Reasons
by Poisonfish
Summary: A series of one-shots of IchiRuki drabbles, mostly fluff, a little tragedy, and a dose of funny. Chapter 42: "Grey or Blue" Summary: AU, Rukia sits by an orange-headed stranger in class.
1. Reasons

REASONS

This is my first IchiRuki fanfic... Actually my first fanfic ever. I've been reading them for a while now and have wanted very badly to write one, but only just not got to it. Please, please, please, PLEASE review and I'll do my best to get back to you. And depending on how well this does, I might make it into a series of one-shots. So REVIEW! Flames are accepted but ignored, and constructive criticism is welcomed with open arms.

This takes place once Rukia comes back after the Soul Society arc.

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach. But, so far I've been a VERY good girl, Santa! (hint, hint)

"Baka! Why do you insist on doing such stupid things?" Rukia was screaming at Ichigo after yet another fight with a hollow. He had jumped in front of her at the last second as the hollow was about to attack Rukia and he killed it. She had been silently glowering the whole way home, refusing to allow him to walk beside her. Ichigo wasn't sure if it was because he had taken the fight from her or because he had protected her. As soon as Ichigo closed the door to his bedroom, she had let him have it.

Rubbing the spot on his head where he had hit in on the floor after Rukia power-kicked him, Ichigo sat up. "I was fighting the hollow, moron! That's what we do!"

Rukia sent Ichigo back to the floor with another kick. "We do fight hollows, but not like mindless idiots! I know it's hard for you to grasp, Strawberry," Rukia said in a mocking tone, "but please. Do not jump into the path of a hollow's mouth when it's about to take a bite!" She sighed and sat on his bed. "Why would you do that? Are you really that brainless?"

Ichigo timidly sat back up, worried she would kick him again. When she didn't, he moved to sit by her on his bed. Without looking at her, he replied, "Do you really think I would waste all that time saving your midget ass just to have you eaten by a meager hollow? Maybe you're the brainless one."

Rukia's jaw dropped, but only for a second. Before Ichigo could see what she was doing, she whacked him on the back of his head.

"Baka! I can take care of myself!"

Ichigo stood up angrily and pointed his finger accusatorially at her. "IT WAS ABOUT TO EAT YOU!" he shouted.

Ichigo expected her to yell again and maybe through a heavy object at him, but she didn't. She sat on the bed, looking straight-forward with a face full of remorse.

Rukia's eyes began to tear up as she whispered, "Why do you insist on constantly saving me, Ichigo? Why do you put yourself in danger time after time for me?"

Ichigo sat back down beside her and wrapped his arms around her small frame. As she quietly cried onto his chest, he ran his fingers through her hair and remained quiet.

After staying in this position for a long time, Ichigo tilted Rukia's face towards his. Carefully wiping her tears away with the pad of his thumb, he smiled slightly.

"Baka... I will always protect you. Always. I..." he trailed off, battling with himself. He had always been the guy without hormones, without taking a second look at a girl, even those as beautiful as Inoue. But when Rukia came into his life...

At first it was as if nothing changed, well, except for the fact that he was now a Shinigami who fought evil souls and had a sword as tall as he was. But over time, he had begun to notice little things Rukia did. The way she slept curled in a ball, the one strand of hair that refused to sweep behind her ear, the way she egged him on constantly, the way she screamed at him, the way that, no matter how many times he showed her, she still couldn't figure out the way to properly use a juice box... And when Renji and Byakukya took her away, when she looked back at him for what she believed to be the last time, he suddenly realized that he loved her.

And then he saved her. And then she didn't come back with him. He was devastated, though he hid it well. When she came back, the rain stopped again. She was his heart and soul, the reason for him to live.

He hadn't told her this yet. Now he was battling with himself on whether it was a good moment to do so. When he looked into her teary eyes, he knew that the time had come.

"Rukia, I..." He swallowed and tried again. "Rukia, I love you. And I will protect you with everything I am and everything I have because without you, I have no reason to live."

She stared up at him in shocked silence for a good 30 seconds.

Ichigo scratched his head awkwardly. "Sorry... if that's weird for you to hear. But I wanted you to kno-mmmm!"

Rukia had reached up and grabbed his face, capturing his lips with her's. Ichigo's eyes widened before he closed them and kissed her back so enthusiastically that they were both out of breath within a matter of seconds. They broke apart gasping for air, but still holding each other close.

"Rukia, I-"

"Baka!" Rukia shouted, smiling slightly. "Shut up and kiss me!"

Ichigo didn't hesitate to obey.

So? How'd I do? Review, please!


	2. What's That?

_A/N: A second one-shot from me! Haha, I really like this one. I hope you do too! Please review!_

_**Disclamer:**__ I do not own Bleach. If I did, Ichigo and Rukia would've been together by the Soul Society arc._

_This story takes place after the Soul Society arc._

**WHAT'S THAT?**

Ichigo was fuming and muttering under his breath. Rukia had to jog to keep up with him.

They had just been visiting Soul Society. Somehow, some of the shinigami, well, Renji and Byakuya, had found out about Ichigo and Rukia... well... dating. It hadn't been pretty...

FLASHBACK

_"Can we go yet, Captain?" Renji was itching to see Rukia again, and he knew that she and Ichigo had just gotten to town._

_"Yes, Renji. We will go now," Byakuya said in his usual stonic manner. They went out the door and began walking to the Kuckiki manor, where Rukia would be staying, as well as Ichigo. The way there was silent, Renji too excited to speak as he walked, bordering on running, and Byakuya was, well, Byakuya._

_When they got to the manor and slipped inside, they wandered around trying to find the two guests. Finally, Renji gently pushed open the kitchen door and found Ichigo and Rukia._

_Kissing._

_Renji's jaw dropped and he began to stammer. Apparently, the two hadn't heard this as they continued to deepen the kiss, and Rukia began to moan. When Byakuya entered, however, Renji found his voice. "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU TWO DOING?"_

_Ichigo and Rukia sprung apart, their faces turning various shades of red._

_"Renji!" Ichigo exclaimed, taken aback._

_Suddenly, Rukia's eyes fell on her brother and widened in horror._

_"Scatter, Senbonzakura."_

END FLASHBACK

Rukia, unlike Ichigo, was quietly contemplating something Renji had said after they calmed Byakuya down a bit, well, more like took his zanpakuto away. Most of his words were stuttered, but one thing stood out to her.

"Ichigo," she started, jogging up beside him.

Ichigo grunted in reply, his scowl deepening.

Rukia took a moment to continue, and then she asked, "What's 'pregnant'?"

Ichigo came to a complete stop, causing Rukia to slam into him. He turned to her, a blush beginning to creep onto his cheeks.

"You don't know?" Ichigo asked, amazed at her lack of knowledge.

Rukia shrugged. "I know the gist: to have a baby. I just don't know how it happens or how you could make me it."

If Ichigo was red before, he was on fire now. "Uh... Well..." he stammered, embarrassed at how naive she was.

Rukia stood staring at him expectantly. "Spit it out," she said.

He scratched the back of his neck awkwardly. "Well," he began, refusing to look her in the eye, "when two people love each other, sometimes they decide to... have a baby."

"Okay, so they decide at that's that? They get a baby?" Rukia smiled to herself; she had figured it out. She couldn't understand why Ichigo was so red, though.

"Well, no, not exactly." Ichigo coughed, still not looking at her. Why had he corrected her? He could've let it go and then he wouldn't be in this awkward situation any more.

Rukia frowned. "Then what?"

"Well... Then they, well, get together and have... a big party!" Ichigo couldn't make himself say it.

"A party?" Rukia deadpanned. "Really?"

Ichigo sighed. This was going to take a lot of work...

Two hours, lots of blushing, and an awkward conversation later, Ichigo had successfully explained the concept of babymaking to Rukia. She was amazed, and more than a little grossed out, that an actual baby could grow inside of her. She kept looking down at her stomach in amazement.

"Would you stop that? It's creeping me out," Ichigo said, glaring at her from behind his book.

Rukia stopped and stood up, walking over to him. Wrapping her arms around his waist, she said, "Ichigo, you love me, right?"

He nodded in response.

"And I love you..."

Again, he nodded.

Rukia turned so that she straddled his waist while still keeping her arms around him. Looking deeply into his eyes, she kissed him. When they broke apart, she said, "Ichigo, I want to have a baby."

Rukia fell to the ground as Ichigo stood up quickly.

"WHAT?"

_A/N: So? Did you like it? Haha, I do. I know that Rukia probably wouldn't be so naive, but I thought of this and just _had _to write it. So besides that, what did I do right? Wrong? Let me know and REVIEW!_

**Please Review!**


	3. Baby Talk

A/N: So some of you wanted to see some more of what would happen because of my last one-shot, so I decided that I would take a shot at it. Same time frame: after Soul Society Arc. Enjoy!

Disclamer: I do not own Bleach. But if you're ever stuck on what to get me for Christmas or my birthday, that's a good start...

BABY TALK

_"Ichigo, you love me, right?"_

_He nodded in response._

_"And I love you..."_

_Again, he nodded._

_Rukia turned so that she straddled his waist while still keeping her arms around him. Looking deeply into his eyes, she kissed him. When they broke apart, she said, "Ichigo, I want to have a baby."_

_Rukia fell to the ground as Ichigo stood up quickly._

_"WHAT?"_

"Rukia, do you realize what that would mean?" Ichigo worked really hard to control his voice, but after what she just sprang on him, he wasn't sure if that was possible.

Rukia got up from the floor pouting. "It would mean that I would have a baby growing inside of me. I want to see what that's like."

Ichigo sighed, running his hand through his hair. "Rukia, it's a lot more than that. Having a baby means taking care of it and raising it. We'd have to help it grow up into a decent human being. Or... whatever it would be if it's mother was, well, a soul."

Rukia just shrugged. "I take care of you, don't I?"

Ichigo scowled. "No, I take care of myself." He let out yet another sigh, letting his hand fall from his head. "Okay, Rukia. I don't think that you'll understand until you see it for yourself."

"So you'll have a baby with me?" she asked hopefully, her eyes lighting up.

"What? No! At least not... yet. Maybe someday," he mumbled. He started zoning out as he thought about his future. His future with Rukia... A smile began to form on his lips before Rukia came and kicked it off.

"Oi, Strawberry! Quit thinking perverted thoughts!"

"I wasn't thinking anything perverted! I'm not Keigo!" Ichigo protested, crossing his arms.

"But I thought you said that in order to have a baby, people need to-"

"O-kaayyy... Let's go," Ichigo interrupted her before she got _any_ further.

Twenty minutes later, they were standing in front of a day care. Ichigo was holding Rukia's hand, and although she loved it, she was wondering what on earth they were doing there and what it had to do with her having his child. As soon as possible. She wanted to know what it was like to give birth and to have a living _thing_ inside of her. She didn't care if Ichigo didn't want one; she was going to get one and that was that.

Gently pulling on her arm, leading her, Ichigo explained why they were there. "This is a place that kids go when their parents are at work and can't watch them at the moment. My mom used to take me, Yuzu, and Karin here while she helped Dad in the clinic when it got too hectic to have kids in there too. The owner is a family friend."

Rukia didn't understand. Ichigo had said that it was hard to raise a child, yet here was a place you could dump them off if things got too hard for you. When she voiced these thoughts, however, Ichigo rolled his eyes and told her that it didn't work like that.

"You don't just drop them off whenever you feel like it. They have hours that they're open _and,_" he added, "it costs money. Lots of it. Raising a kid is extremely expensive. Sometimes you have to sacrifice what you want in order to give them- Oi! Midget! What do you think you're doing?"

Rukia had run off when she saw something on the playground. It was a slide, but not any ordinary slide. It was shaped as Chappy, and the bunny's back was the part that was the slide. Rukia began hoping up and down excitedly. "Chappy, Chappy, Chappy!" She turned to Ichigo in happiness and amazement. "I want our child to go to this day care. It has good taste."

Ichigo's eyes widened in horror; it was blatently obvious that she really intended to have a child. He was about to yell at her again when he heard a voice from behind him.

"_Your_ child? Is there something you need to tell me, Kurosaki-kun?"

Ichigo turned around to find a smiling owner of the shop, Sato Hanako. He jogged over to her and gave her a loose hug. "Kurosaki-kun, huh? Since when have you been so formal, Hanako?"

Hanako smiled mischeviously. "Since you didn't tell me that you were a father, Ichigo."

Ichigo gaped, completely shocked, when Rukia came over. "Oh, no, miss, we don't have a baby yet. Ichigo is trying to tell me how much of a handful they are so I'll change my mind about having one now, but I don't think he'll win. I'm Kuchiki Rukia, by the way."

"Kuchiki-san, nice to meet you. I am Sato Hanako, the owner and manager of this day care." Hanako bowed slightly before adding, "But Ichigo is right, raising a child is a lot of work, and it's very expensive. It's not to be taken lightly."

Rukia nodded, showing that she heard what Hanako was saying, but she didn't really _listen_ to it. She wanted a baby; the rest of the details be damned.

Hanako continued, "You have to feed, water, and love your child. When it's a baby, it will wake you up countless times at night by crying and needing to be fed. And when it gets a little older, you have to put up with its constant tantrums and wild behaviors."

Rukia smirked. "I do that with Ichigo every day."

Ichigo jabbed her stomach with his elbow as Hanako laughed. "I'm sure you do, darling, but a toddler is much worse. They have endless energy and kick and hit and cry, boy do they cry. And you have to teach them a lot of things, too. And when they get older, you have to pay for school, sports, and other activities. The whole time and process is _very_ expensive. Food costs a lot of money, and that's not the only expense you'd have. You shouldn't even think about having a baby until you have a stable job and home life."

Rukia paused, thinking. She had a stable job. Working for the 13 protection squads paid enough, but obviously not in real world money. She'd need to convert that. It all seemed pretty doable for her still.

After spending another hour at the day care watching kids play and throw tantrums (which honestly looked quite a bit like Ichigo's, only he scowled instead of cried) and eat rather messily, Ichigo took Rukia back home, sure that she would be rethinking the whole _baby_ thing. When they got back in Ichigo's room, however, Rukia pounced.

She knocked Ichigo to the ground and kissed him with everything she had. When he needed air, she moved to kissing his neck and he moaned, his arms wrapped around her waist. When she started pulling up his shirt, however, he sat up quickly and pointed at her in alarm.

"What the _hell_ do you think you're doing?" he said in a dangerously low voice, yanking down his shirt.

Rukia pouted. "I thought we would just work on concieving the baby now. I'm sick of waiting," she whinned.

Ichigo stood up. He could not believe it. After everything, she _still_ wanted a baby? Finally, he pulled his trump card. Walking over to his desk and sitting down, Ichigo said, "You know, Rukia, if you had a baby, you wouldn't be able to watch Chappy very much. Maybe not at all."

Rukia began to shrug it off when the reality of what he was saying sunk in. "What? No... no Chappy?" Her eyes widened in shock and she started going on a rant about how that simply would not do.

About half an hour later, she came over to Ichigo's bed and sat down, looking at him sullenly. "You know, Ichigo. I know how much you wanted a baby, but I just don't think we're ready for that committment."

Ichigo smiled slightly. _When in doubt,_ he thought to himself, _use the Chappy card._

A/N: Whaddya think? I thought it was okay, not as good as my other ones, but still funny, right? And I've wondered for a while now: is it even possible for _souls_ to have babies? I guess it'd be possible using her gigai, but just her soul form? I wonder...

I already have what I'm going to post next written up. It's kinda sad, but I like it. I'll proabably post it tomorrow. Sneak peak! The title is Memories and it has a clip of Ichigo and Rukia's wedding day! (The clip is _very_ short, though.)

Also, I'd like to thank all of you who have reviewed so far! **UraharafanXDXDXD, Queen of Tartarus, XxxZesty LemonXxx, darklover, **and **cruorem**! Thank you! Your comments meant SO much to me! It was great encouragement, and I really appreciate it! I'll actually personally reply to your reviews if I have time to do so.

Let me know what you think! **REVIEW! (Please!)**


	4. Memories

A/N: Takes place WAYY future. Not really any spoilers besides the usual: soul society arc. Enjoy!

Disclamer: I do not own Bleach... I just use normal detergent.

MEMORIES

Rukia took a deep breath, preparing herself before walking into the building. She'd been there so many times, but each time was different and more painful. As she walked through the familiar hallways, she nodded to those she knew. Finally, she got there. The Room. She knocked before entering. She was greeted at the door by two familiar faces. One had crazy orange hair and a sad smile on his face, the other had long black hair and sad brown eyes. Rukia could tell that the second was holding back tears. She hugged them both as they said hello.

"How is he today?" she asked, her eyes glancing towards a bed with a figure on it.

The black haired woman sighed. "Pretty much the same. Going on and on about Hollows and Soul Society, as usual. The nurses keep asking if we'll admit him to the psych ward, but we just tell them no, he's not hurting anyone."

Rukia took a long glance at the woman. She was still young, only in her thirties or so, but wrinkles began to show around her eyes. Her brown eyes looked tired and so sad, it broke Rukia's heart. She knew it was hard for both of the young people in the room to do this week after week, but their love overpowered the pain. Rukia's eyes looked at the orange-haired man. He, too, looked tired, but he was still smiling, something she never expected him to do after, well, all of this. Finally, Rukia walked towards the bed and took in the sight of the man on the bed. His grey hair was thinning out and balding, his eyes were closed and encompassed by many wrinkles. He looked peaceful in his sleep, and Rukia went to hold his hand.

As soon as her hand touched his, the old man's eyes fluttered open and he jumped back, startled. He squinted his eyes as he took in her figure, but his eyes didn't seem to recollect who she was.

Rukia smiled sadly at the man. "Hello, sweetie," she said, sitting down on a chair that was next to the bed. "How are you today?"

The man looked at her skeptically, scrutinizing her face as he tried to remember anything about her. "Who are you?" he finally asked after several moments.

A sharp pang hit Rukia's heart. She tried smiling again, but her eyes started to tear up. "It's me, Rukia. Your wife. Ichigo, honey, it's me."

Ichigo looked at her again. He chuckled. "Wife? You look like you're twelve years old! You're not my wife." He stole his hand away and turned to look at the other two people in the room. "What about them? Who are they?"

The orange-haired man came over and placed a hand on Ichigo's shoulder. "It's me, Dad. Kaien. Your son." The woman hesitated behind him before slowly making her way towards him. "And Masaki, your daughter," Kaien clarified, gesturing to him.

Ichigo apraised them, and then chuckled again. "Masaki is my mother," he stated.

Masaki approached him, tears forming once again. "Yes, Dad, Masaki was your mom. You named me after her. Remember?"

Ichigo turned and looked out the window. He didn't say anything for a long time. Finally, he turned to Rukia and said, "I'm a Shinigami. I protect those I love and kill Hollows."

Rukia smiled at him. "That's right. Do you remember how you became a Shinigami?" she asked, hoping that maybe today, maybe now, he would remember something. _Anything_.

Ichigo frowned as he wracked his brain. "The girl," he said suddenly, and everyone in the room snapped their heads up to attention. "The girl came into my room... She let me protect my... my... sisters." He turned to look at Rukia again. "She looked like you."

Rukia smiled again, tears running down her cheeks. "That's right. She was me. I was that girl. What else do you remember?"

Ichigo continued thinking, and they all waited patiently. "She can't do anything. She can't drink from a juice box. Baka."

Throwing her head back in laughter, Rukia nodded. "You showed me so many times, and I could never do it right."

"And then... she was gone. Someone took her. But I went to save her, I protected her, because I protect the ones I love, I'm a Shinigami, I kill Hollows."

He was looping, but he was remembering, too. Rukia didn't want to lose him again. "You did, you did save me, Ichigo. Even though I told you not to. You're so stubborn! But you saved me, and then you told me that you loved me. Do you remember? Do you remember our wedding day?"

Ichigo looked at her for a minute, and then looked back out the window. "I protect the people I love."

He was gone again, but Rukia would hold onto what he gave her until tomorrow when she would visit again. She placed a kiss on his hand and stood up, turning to her two children, who both looked on the verge of tears.

"Kaien, Masaki, I think we should let him rest."

The two siblings nodded, and they all bid Ichigo farewell and walked out the door.

Standing in the hallway, Rukia gave each of her children a hug and kiss. It was strange to see her children, who were once itty bitty babies she could fit in her arms, towering above her, looking old enough to be her parents. And, as a nurse walked by and greeted Kaien and then bent down and patted her head, she was reminded that that was the story they told the nursing home. It would be odd to have a wife the size of a granddaughter.

Rukia sighed. She looked up at her children and gave them a reassuring smile. "I'll see you guys soon, okay?" They both nodded, and she turned to walk out the door yet again.

As she exited the nursing home, she looked back to Ichigo's window. As she often did when she came to visit him, she remembered.

_Ichigo held her hand and kissed her head. "Midget, I love you," he told her as he lead her to the dance floor._

_She smiled up at him. "You'd better, or else we spent a lot of money for nothing today."_

_He started to sway to their song for their first dance as a married couple and said, "It was well spent... I'll never forget today."_

_They danced, and she believed him._

A/N: So... What'd you think? Sad? I thought so. I almost cried while I wrote it. I am a very emotional person, though. Anyway, the inspiration came because I recently got a job at a nursing home and I wondered what would happen if Ichigo didn't go to live in his spirit form with her? He would get older, and so on and so forth. So yeah. Also, I thought that Ichigo and Rukia would name their kids after those two. I don't know, it just seemed fitting. Let me know what you think! Maybe in the future I'll do more kid-related one-shots and name them differently if you think it best. Review!

**REVIEW! ...Please?**


	5. Ice Wars

_A/N: Story set in Substitute Arc, no spoilers. I hope you like it!_

Disclamer: I do not own Bleach. I smack myself every day for not thinking of the idea first.

ICE WARS

"What kind do you want?"

"Um..." Rukia thought for a second. "Strawberry."

The man behind the counter nodded.

"And I'll have a chocolate, please."

The man nodded again and turned his back to them as he set to work.

"So," Rukia began, "what is this again?"

"Ice cream," Ichigo told her with a sigh for what seemed like the hundredth time.

"Oh, okay. Icy creamed."

Ichigo scowled. "No, Ice. Cream."

"Ice cream," Rukia tried again.

"That's right," Ichigo nodded. "It's good, especially on hot days like this."

The man handed the ice cream cones to Ichigo and Rukia as the former paid him. They walked a short distance to a bench and sat down before Ichigo started licking the cone. Rukia watched intently, trying to discern how to eat the forgien object. A few seconds went by, then minutes, and Ichigo finally noticed Rukia staring at her cone now as if it was a cone full of spiders.

"Oi, Rukia." Ichigo took his cone and pointed to it, then stuck out his tongue and pointed to that, and then began licking the ice cream again. Rukia watched and then turned to her cone again. She timidly stuck out her tongue and gently licked the ice cream for a second, and then pulled back in shock.

"It's cold!"

Ichigo rolled his eyes. "No, really? _Ice_ cream, Rukia. Ice. It's supposed to be cold."

She did not appreciate his sarcasm, and took her cone, when he wasn't looking, of course, otherwise it wouldn't be fair, and rubbed it on his nose. Then, smiling happily, satisfied, she began to lick her ice cream again, deciding that she liked the sweet flavor.

Ichigo was not happy. He didn't _like_ strawberry ice cream. And now it was all over his face. He angrily wiped it off of his face with a napkin and then proceeded to take his cone and plop it on top of her head. Triumphantly he looked at it. What a waste. _It was worth it, though,_ he thought smugly.

Meanwhile, Rukia was fuming. She slowly stood up, grabbed the cone off of her head, and promptly smushed it down his shirt.

"Dammit, Rukia! That's TOO COLD!"

Rukia watched, amused, as Ichigo danced around the seating area trying to get the ice cream out of his shirt. When he finally succeeded, he turned, furious, to Rukia.

"Rukia," he said in a dangerously low voice, "You are going to wish that you _never did that."_

She gasped as he lifted her off her feet and carried her, kicking and screaming, on his shoulder to the front window of the ice cream parlor. When Ichigo finally got the man's attention again, he polietly asked for some, well, a whole cup's worth, of ice. When he got it, he grabbed it and, still holding Rukia, he walked back over to the bench and laid her down on it, pinning her arms and legs down with his limbs. Grinning mischeviously, he took the cup of ice, grasped the neckline of her dress, and poured the whole cup in.

Rukia screamed, the cold ice freezing her bare skin. "ICHIGO! LET ME UP! _NOW!_"

Ichigo complied, releasing her. It was her turn to dance around until all of the ice came out of the bottom of her dress. She turned, glaring, to Ichigo again.

"Never. Do. That. Again," she told him, trying to control her voice since they were getting strange looks from the people all around them.

He smirked, and then said, "Well, we're even now. If you never put ice cream down my shirt again, I won't have to do that ever again."

Rukia growled, but soon forgot her anger as she saw her ice cream cone sitting upside-down on the pavement, forgotten. She frowned, and then looked to Ichigo again.

He sighed and stood up. "Come on, I'll get you a new one."

Rukia grinned and skipped by his side to wait for her second first ice cream cone.

_A/N: Heehee, I hope you like it! I think it's funny! And I think it's pretty low on sap, so that's probably good for all of you. Haha. Review, please! I want to know what you think I can do differently/better!_

**PLEASE REVIEW! :)**


	6. Chappy

_A/N: Set to far in the future. No spoilers. Hope you like it! I think this one might be my favorite so far!_

Disclamer: I do not own Bleach. Sometimes I close my eyes and wish really hard, but it never works.

CHAPPY

"Please?"

"No."

"But why not?"

"Because it's ridiculous."

"No it's not!"

"Yes it is."

"PLEASE?"

"NO! Rukia, no."

"Pretty please?"

"Hmm... okay!"

"Really?

"NO!"

"You're not being very fair."

"Well, you're not being very reasonable."

"This is a decision we both have to make!"

"Yes, and I'm saying _no."_

"Ichigo!"

"Rukia. No way in _hell_ will I let you do that."

"But it's so cute!"

"No, actually, it's not."

"Yes it is! Inoue agrees with me!"

"First of all, you know Inoue doesn't argue with anyone. EVER. Secondly, have you even asked her about it?"

"Well, no, but I know that she'd agree!"

"No, she wouldn't. And Renji, Chad, Ishida, and every other SANE person on the earth agrees with _me!_"

"What about Nii-sama?"

"Okay, Rukia. We'll ask him, and whatever he says goes. Deal?"

"Deal."

_20 minutes later..._

"Well, Byakuya? What do you think?"

"...Absolutely not."

"HA! I told you it was insane!"

"Ichigo! Nii-sama!"

"Rukia, there is no way. And we had a deal."

"Wait... Kurosaki, you didn't like this idea?"

"No..."

"Well, then, I change my mind."

"WHAT?"

"YES! Ichigo, 'we had a deal'!"

"_Please,_ Byakuya, for the love of everything good and holy! Take it back!"

"I have made my decision."

"Thank you, Nii-sama."

"Not at all, Rukia."

"You're going to determine our child's fate based on some loose judgement like that? Just because I don't like the idea?"

"...Yes."

"Well, then, I hope you're ready for our child coming and killing you when it gets older."

"Ichigo!"

"Kurosaki, I do not appreciate that."

"Well, I don't appreciate you agreeing with Rukia!"

"But Ichigo, Chappy is such a wonderful name!"

"NOT FOR OUR BABY, IT ISN'T!"

_A/N: Heehee! I think that this is funny. Do you? In case you didn't catch on to what was going on, Ichigo and Rukia are going to have a baby (it's pretty far into the future) and Rukia wants to name it Chappy. Ichigo hates that idea (obviously) and so they make a deal (after arguing about it for a while) that whatever Byakuya says goes. Byakuya originally goes with Ichigo until he figures out that Ichigo hates the idea. Haha, I hope you liked it!_

_Thanks so much to those of you who have reviewed and favorited so far! It means the __**WORLD**__ to me! I love you all!_

**Please, for the love of IchiRuki, REVIEW! xD**


	7. Blessings

_A/N: Set to future, Ichigo in late 20's. Minor spoilers up to after war. Enjoy! I hope you like it!_

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach, but sometimes I wonder if it would be possible to do a body swap with Tite Kubo and own it for, like, a day... That would be awesome.

BLESSING

Ichigo nerviously straightened his tie as he stood on the front porch of the Kuchiki manor. _Stupid suit,_ he thought. _Stupid itchy suit._ He hated waring suits, but now it was necessary. He was going to have dinner with Byakuya and had to look nice. More than nice. He had too look Byakuya _worthy._ Earlier that night, Ichigo had asked Rukia for her opinion.

_"Rukia, would this be good enough for your brother? Would I look nice enough?"_

_"Well, I suppose... But why does that matter? You have dinner with your boss tonight, right?"_

_Ichigo scratched the back of his neck. "Yeah, but my boss is very... Byakuya-like. So? Would this be good enough for him?"_

_Rukia walked up to him and straightened his tie. "Here," she said and then attempted to pat down his hair. When that didn't work, she disappeared into their bathroom and came out soon after with a comb and a cup of water. She came back to him and dipped the comb in the water, forcefully pushing back his orange locks. When she was done, she stepped back and admired her work. "There," she said. "That would be good enough for Nii-sama. And if it's good enough for him, it's good enough for anyone."_

Ichigo hadn't told her that he was really going to the Kuchiki manor. He didn't want her to be suspicious. Now, as he stood waiting for someone to answer the door after he rang the bell, he wished that she was with him. She could always put him at ease with her teasing, shouting, and hitting. He knew it sounded strange, but those things were what gave him peace. If he had them, he knew that she was still with him.

Finally, a large portly man opened the door. "Please come in, sir." The man, who Ichigo assumed was a butler, led him inside and started to take his coat. "Let me take your coat, sir," he said and hung it up on the coat rack. "Please follow me." This time, the butler led him to a large sitting room full with fancy furniture that looked as if it had never been sat on. "Dinner is at exactly 7. Kuchiki-sama will be with you in a moment." And with that, he left Ichigo to his own devices.

The orange-haired shinigami wandered about the room, taking in the miniture statues and the other art that was scattered around on the various walls, bookshelves, and end-tables. Mainly, he was doing this in order to delay sitting down. But when he had seen everything the room had to offer, he sighed and turned to a chair with polished wood hand rests and satin cloth seats. He hesitated, not knowing if Byakuya would want him to sit down on his furniture (_He'd probably say I made it filthy,_ Ichigo thought). Giving up, he moved instead to look out the big bay window until the noble got into the room.

When Byakuya _did_ enter, he immediately used the opportunity to have a go at Ichigo. "Is our furniture not _good_ enough for you, Kurosaki?"

Ichigo jumped at his voice, but quickly recovered. "No, that's not it, Byakuya, I was just admiring the view."

"Do not call me by my first name. Call me Kuchiki-sama." It was not a request, it was a demand.

The substitute shinigami wanted to roll his eyes. "Whatever you say, Kuchiki-sama."

The two men stood awkwardly for a moment before Byakuya said, "You called this meeting, Kurosaki. What did you need to talk about?"

"Well," Ichigo started, feeling nervous all over again. "It's about Ru-your sister."

"Is she in danger? Hurt?" Though his words suggested worry, Byakuya said the words in his normal stonic manner.

"No, it's just..." He sighed. "Well, we've been dating for a while now-"

"Three weeks, am I right?"

Ichigo scratched the back of his neck awkwardly. "Uh, no, actually it's been about two and a half years now. Anyway, we've been dating for a long time now and, well, we... well, love each other," he finished lamely, letting his arm fall back down to his side.

Byakuya said nothing.

"And, uh, I wanted to ask you something... Well, I'm going to ask Ru-your sister to, well, marry me." Ichigo grinned at the thought.

Byakuya went cold. "No."

The substitute shinigami's grin was wiped from his face as he scowled. "Hey, wait a minute! I'm not asking for your permission, just your blessing, because that's what Rukia would want. But if she says 'yes,' I'd marry her tomorrow."

Byakuya really wanted to cut the boy to shreds at this point, but his face remained blank. "You're not a noble. You're not worthy."

"Listen to my reasons as to why I believe I am worthy of her. Please," Ichigo added as an afterthought. When the captian didn't say anything, he continued. "First of all, Hisana wasn't a noble, but you married her. That's just something I'd like to point out, so you can think abou that. As for my reasons..." Ichigo had planned out his speech out word by word and was ready.

"Firstly, I love her. And she loves me, unless I'm completely mistaken. I love her so much that I want to be with the midget every day of the rest of my life and death and even death from death. She makes the rain stop," he added, mostly to himself. "When she's not with me, I feel like I'm missing a part, or even just dead. I worry about her constantly. I love her... more than anything I've ever loved in my life.

"I have a good job as a doctor in the real job and can provide for us there to have a comfortable life style. And in Soul Society, I have a job as a Substitute Shinigami and another job as a captain lined up for when I die. Either life _she_ choses, I'll follow, and I'll support her 100%.

"I can handle responsibility really well. My mom died when I was really little, so I basically raised my two twin sisters. I cared for them when they were sick, comforted them when they were crying, and stuck up for them when they needed it. I worked really hard in high school, college, and med school. I also worked really hard at my shinigami duties, and I won the war even though I was only a substitute.

"I learn really quickly. I had shikai as soon as I became a shinigami, and quickly learned the ins and outs of Soul Reaping. I got bankai in three days, and I mastered my inner hollow within a month. I excelled at college and med school and got great grades because of it. I picked up cooking from Yuzu, my sister, fairly quickly, and I know all of the names of the captains in the 13 protection squads already. I can learn to be a great husband with ease and, when the time comes, I can be a great dad, too.

"I will protect her. No matter what. I think I proved that to you the second time we met.

"Finally, I'm here. I'm doing this properly and asking you for your blessing. I wouldn't do that if I didn't care about her. I'm wearing an itchy suit, I tamed my hair, and I'm even wearing colone in order to appear presentable to you.

"I love your sister, and I want to marry her. I want your blessing. Do I have it?" Ichigo finished his speech and looked expectantly to Byakuya, who looked him over. He _did _look presentable, a rare thing.

Byakuya turned on his heel and walked out of the room. Ichigo waited a few moments, unsure of what to do, before following him. _The boy made some good points, _the noble thought, trying to find a flaw in this plan. Finally, he got to the door and opened it, but stopped Ichigo before he walked out.

"Kurosaki... You'll make her... happy?"

Ichigo nodded. "Every day."

Byakuya hesitated. "You... have my blessing _and_ my permission. You may not have children for two years after marriage, however."

Ichigo beamed and surprised the captain by pulling him into a hug. "Thank you," he said enthusiastically. When he pulled back, he looked quizzically at the stunned man. "Wait... if I have permission, what about dinner...?"

"I don't think either of us wants to sit through that," Byakuya said in his usual stonic manner.

The orange-haired shinigami nodded and said, "True that. Thanks again, Nii-sama." And he turned and walked out the door.

"You may not call me that!" Byakuya said after him. Ichigo just waved in response.

That night, as he and Rukia laid in bed, Ichigo thought of the day. He rolled over on his side and put an arm around Rukia's small frame. "Oi, Rukia, are you still awake?" he whispered in her ear.

She rolled over and smiled at him. "Mmhmm..." she said somewhat sleepily.

Ichigo stroked her cheek and swept some of her hair behind her ear. He leaned in and pressed his lips to hers. When they broke apart, he looked into her violet eyes. "I love you," he said softly.

"I love you, too," she said, snuggling in closer to his embrace.

"I think we have a problem, though..."

"What?"

Ichigo put his hand on her stomach tenderly. "Byakuya's not going to be happy when he finds out... about the baby."

Rukia leaned in and brushed her lips to his. "Screw him," she said. "It makes me happy. And so do you."

Ichigo smiled. He knew that her happiness would be enough for Byakuya. It was enough for him, too.

_A/N: xD So, it wasn't exactly funny, more fluff than humor, but it was cute, right? This is actually my second take of this. I wrote the first one, but then my computer crashed before I could save it, so I lost it. I was mad, but I think that this one actually turned out a lot better than the first one._

_Thanks to my reviewers thus far! I hit double digets! WOO HOO! Thank you all! I love you!_

_I hope you like it! Let me know and..._

**REVIEW! You have Byakuya's permission **_**and**_** blessing!**


	8. The Closet

_A/N: Set to arc after all of the Bount episodes... Sorry, I lost track of the names of the arcs. Minor spoilers, as always! Enjoy!_

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach in this universe. In alternate ones, however, I own it and several other fictional stories that in this universe I don't have the brains for.

THE CLOSET

"Dad, Rukia and I are _just friends_," Ichigo stressed yet again for his crazy father. They had been going back and forth for about two hours now, and Ichigo really, _really_ wanted to go to bed.

"Ichigo, I know that she's up in your room now. I know that you're going to go up there and become a man!" Isshin teared up at the thought. "Masaki! Do you hear this? Our son is going to become a man toni-" He was cut off by his son's fist on his jaw.

"Shut up! She's only here to grab something and then she's leaving! We are _just friends!_ Get that through your thick skull!" Ichigo fumed and then turned on his heel and proceeded up the steps grumbling.

"Onii-chan, could you bring these cookies to Rukia-chan? They're her favorite."

"Sure, Yuzu," Ichigo said, and smiled at his little sister. She was so thoughtful.

Ichigo opened the door to his room and dropped the plate of cookies in front of Rukia, who was laying on his bed reading a manga. He crossed his arms and looked down at her, glaring. Rukia didn't look up at him as she waved.

"Oi, midget," Ichigo finally said. She still didn't look at him, but instead used her legs to knock him to the ground. "Rukia! GET UP!"

"No," was all she said, continuing to flick through the manga.

Ichigo was fuming. Careful to keep his voice controlled, he said, "Rukia, please stop reading for a second and _listen to me_."

Finally, the petite shinigami closed the manga and sat up at attention for him. "All you had to do was ask nicely, Ichigo."

"Whatever. What did you need? Because Dad's getting suspicious of you being up here all the time, and I don't really want a bunch of rumors floating around."

Rukia shrugged. "I don't know. I just wanted to hang out and eat cookies on your bed and read your mangas," she said as she stuffed a cookie into her mouth. "Mmm! Fese arwe my favofite!"

Ichigo grabbed her wrist and dragged her off the bed. "If that's all you need, I'll see you tomorrow, _okay?_ Go to your room with Yuzu and Karin. _Now._"

"Ichigo! I can't sleep in there!"

"Too bad." The substitute shinigami, still dragging Rukia by the wrist, opened the door and threw her out. "Good night, Rukia-chan."

"Ichi-" Rukia was cut of by the door slamming in her face. Fuming, she tried to open the door, but it was being held closed by the strawberry on the other side of the door. She knocked furiously, shouting, "ICHIGO! LET ME IN!" But said teenager didn't budge.

Isshin, hearing all of the noise, came joyously skipping up the stairs. "Rukia-chan! Hello!"

Stoping mid-knock, Rukia turned and smiled at her host. "Oh, hello, Kurosaki-kun."

"Please, call me Isshin. Or... better yet, call me Dad." Isshing grinned at her.

"I'll just call you Isshin..."

Isshin ignored this comment and took her by the arm. "I have a plan to get Ichigo back for what he is doing to us. You see, I want grandchildren just as much as you want a child!" He ignored her sounds of protest. "Do you want to hear it?"

Rukia closed her mouth and nodded. _No use arguing with him; he won't listen,_ she thought.

"Well, here it is..."

_15 minutes later..._

"Ichigo! Quick! A Hollow!"

Immediately, the door flung open and there stood Ichigo, already grabbing for his substitute badge. "Where?"

Rukia grabbed him before he could get out of his body and pulled him through the door. Isshin quickly came on the other side and together they dragged him to the nearest closet.

"OI! RUKIA! DAD! LET ME GO!"

The two just laughed. Finally, they stuffed him into the closet and shut it behind them, and Isshin held it shut. "Now I just have to get the key..." he said as he fished around for it in his pocket. When he found it, he quickly manuvered so that he was behind Rukia but still holding the door shut. "Okay, Rukia, I'm going to lock the door, and then you can have my delinquent son's room all to yourself for the night, right?"

Rukia smiled and nodded. _This was actually quite a good plan,_ she thought... until Isshin opened the door and shoved her inside, too. He hurridly closed the door and locked it.

"Have fun in there, you two! Make me a grandchild!" Isshin called as he walked away.

Rukia and Ichigo turned to face each other, which was difficult in such tight quarters. Immediately, they scooted as far from each other as they could, which was _not_ much.

"THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT!" they both accused at the same time. "My fault? It's _your_ fault!"

"You're the one who went along with his crazy plan!"

"You could've just let me stay in your room!"

They both turned their faces away from each other and crossed their arms.

_10 minutes later..._

"How long is he going to make us stay here?" Rukia asked.

Ichigo shrugged. "Who knows? Until we make him a 'grandchild,' I suppose."

"Well that's _never_ going to happen!"

"I know! Don't look at me like that! Like I'd _ever_ want to do that with you!"

Rukia punched him in the stomach.

_15 minutes later..._

"Stop that," Ichigo complained. Rukia had been whistling for the past five minutes.

Now, she ignored him and continued to do as she pleased.

"Stop it, midget!"

Rukia stopped only to kick him wherever she could; it was so cramped that she could barely move her legs. Because of this, her "kick" felt more like a nudge to Ichigo. But that didn't mean that he wasn't annoyed.

"_STOP NOW OR SO HELP ME I'LL KNOCK YOU OUT. _And it won't be pretty, either," he threatened. Finally, Rukia stopped. "_Thank you,_" he said pointedly.

...Then she started humming.

"RUKIA!"

_10 minutes later..._

"Ichigo, do you think he'll let us out tonight?"

"How should I know? He'll probably leave us in here until we... never mind."

"Until we what?" Rukia asked, frustrated. If there was _anything_ they could do to get out, she was up for it.

"Kiss."

Except for that. "Ew, gross, Ichigo!"

"Still... if it got us out..."

"Ichigo. No."

"It's not like I _want_ to, Rukia. It's just... this is a really uncomfortable position, especially me."

The petite shinigami sighed. "Tell you what, Strawberry. If we don't get out of here in the next fifteen minutes, we'll try it, okay?"

"Fine."

Isshin grinned from outside of the door. "And to think I was about to give up! HA!" he muttered to himself.

_15 minutes later..._

"All right, Ichigo, it's been fifteen minutes. I guess now is the time..." Rukia said reluctantly.

Ichigo sighed. "Okay, I guess. Let's just get this over and done with."

The two _friends_ scooted closer to each other and awkwardly leaned in, trying not to look at each other. Their lips met for a moment of shock. Then, in a flurry of movements, they pulled each other close and promptly began kissing with enthusiasm. Rukia let out a low moan as Ichigo began nibbling on her lower lip, silently asking for entrance. She gave it to him, parting her lips. Feriously fighting for domanince, their tongues battled it out. At the same time, Ichigo's left hand moved around Rukia's waist, his right holding her neck tilted up to him. Her arms were both around his neck, one entangled in his orange broke apart, gasping for air, and slowly turned to look at each other.

"Rukia... You know... I guess this closet isn't too bad."

"No, I don't think so, either," she replied, pulling him close to her again. "As long as you're here..."

Their lips met again.

_10 minutes later..._

The door came open and Isshin stood in the frame, grinning. "HELLOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO, LOVE BIRDS!" he sang.

When the splash of light had come into the closet, lighting up the two shinigami making out, they had quickly sprang apart. Ichigo knew he should be somewhat happy with Isshin for locking them in a closet until they realized their feelings for one another, but on the other hand, _he locked them_ _in a closet._

Ichigo decided his father got the message when he punched his father's jaw, effectively knocking him out. Then he turned to Rukia, offering her his hand. "You know, Rukia... I suppose I don't mind if you stay in my room tonight..." he said sheepishly.

The raven-haired girl just smiled and accepted his hand. They walked to Ichigo's room together and closed the door behind them.

_A/N: So there's a little Isshin action for you all! As well as an alternative for how the two got together. There's a little more of both coming up in a future one-shot that I already have written up (titled Spin The Bottle... Ooh, la, la!) but I might wait a bit before posting that one, seeing as I already have 3 more finished and one in progress. Let me know if you liked this and if you have any requests! I'll take prompts, ideas, and whatever else you have to offer. This Isshin-influenced one-shot is thanks to __**darklover,**__ who was nice enough to review (twice!) and give me some _GREAT_ advice. I LOVE to hear from you guys! It encourages me to write and write more and it lets me know what I should do differently or the same. Thanks to my reviewers thus far! I love you all! Seriously, without reviews, I probably wouldn't have posted more than the first three chapters of this. You guys are great! Keep reviewing! I plan on personally replying to every review once a week, unless I get too many to keep track of, and then I'll have to just reply as they come. :) Not that I'd be complaining..._

_So in order to continue good (or moderately entertaining) one-shots..._

**REVIEW! Or perhaps Isshin will lock YOU in a closet for a whole hour!**


	9. Number One

_A/N: Takes place after Soul Society arc, minor spoilers. Can you BELIEVE that it's after SSA? Me? Writing one of those? Nah..._

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or the song, 'Number 1' by Hazel Fernandes. Well, I kinda have the song, but I don't own the _rights_ to it. But believe me, if I could, I **would.** Totally.

NUMBER ONE

"Ichigo, I have a question."

He sighed and looked down at her. "What is it, Rukia?"

"Well, I noticed that whenever you're fighting and doing really well, like something awesome just happened, you tend to do something in particular."

Ichigo rolled his eyes. "What, Rukia? What do I do?"

Rukia figited uncomfortably. For some reason, this topic made her uneasy. She couldn't explain it. Usually she loved teasing Ichigo, but this just seemed weird to her, and she wasn't sure if he realized he did it. "Well, you... you tend to sing this song... really, _really_ loudly."

Ichigo threw back his head and laughed; it was ridiculous! "Whatever, Rukia, I do not do any such thing."

She glared at him for laughing at her and moved to a t.v. that she had made sure was in the room before calling him into it. Keeping her eyes locked with his, she pushed play.

Ichigo's eyes widened as the scene played out before him. He saw himself standing, explaining his bankai to Byakuya, when, suddenly, he stopped talking and started... singing? "Ooohh, yeah, yeaaahh!" He watched in horror as he continued to sing and, taking a brief break, saying the word, "Ban..kai" in such a way that seemed as though he was trying to make himself that much more impressive. After giving him a disbelieving stare (which Ichigo had, until now, thought was because of his impressive moves-he now knew that it was simply because of his god-awful singing), Byakuya did the same... minus the personal soundtrack.

"If you wanna see some action, gotta be the center OF ATTRACTION!" Ichigo groaned. He recognized the song now; it was one that his father used to sing as he made an entrance... anywhere.

"It's NAaaaaaTURAL!" Facepalm.

"OH, GOD, NO!" Ichigo screamed as he saw himself start dancing as he sang the next verse.

When the video _finally_ ended, Ichigo turned to Rukia. "Do I really do that?" he asked, begging for it to be a trick or a dream.

Rukia just nodded.

"So... That wasn't the only time, was it?"

She shook her head. Ichigo sat down in the nearest chair and put his head in his hands. He was mortified. Rukia sat down next to him and patted his back. Finally, Ichigo sat up.

"Who else?" he asked her, his eyes desperate.

She shifted uncomforatbly before saying, "Not _too_ many people... just mostly anyone you fought in Soul Society when you came to get me... And a couple hollows, like the first one you fought..."

Ichigo groaned again. "Kenpachi?"

Rukia nodded, "Yeah, but he thought it was cool. He gave you kudos for it. He said it proved you had 'stamina,' since you could still beat him and sing a lengthy song... and dance... at the same time..."

Ichigo winced.

"Sorry," Rukia said. Ichigo just ignored her, going back to his defeated and depressed position. There went his reputation.

For a long time, Ichigo just sat there, mortified beyond mortification. He kept pinching himself, hoping it was a dream. About ten minutes later, Rukia tapped him on the shoulder.

"Ichigo...?"

He looked at her with mournful eyes. "No wonder Byakuya hates me."

_A/N: xD I actually love the song (I think it's epic, and I got it on my iPod. Whenever I feel like doing something awesome, I play it in the backround.) I think it (the song) is funny. I thought of this while I was listening to it one day, so I wrote it down! And can't you just _see_ Isshin doing something like that? Haha, I can. _

_So I'm a little late getting this uploaded, sorry! But at least it's still one a day so far. I have a few more pre-written ones and then I'll have to start writing one a day, unless I keep writing some that I can save for later. I wanted to put a short one in before my two more _LONG_ ones, the two longest I have, thus this shorter one. The next one is either "Spin the Bottle" or "The Proposal." If you tell me which one you want first, I'll put that one up first! xD _

_:D Hope you enjoyed it!_

**PLEASE REVIEW! Or Ichigo will sing to you... It's not pretty, believe me.**


	10. Spin the Bottle

_A/N: No spoilers that I rmember, and I'm too lazy to reread all of it, so sorry. Takes place in whenever time. (Haha, I'm really lazy today.)_

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach, quit rubbing it in.

SPIN THE BOTTLE

"Ichigo, what's 'Spin the Bottle?'"

Ichigo nearly spit out his drink when he heard this. "WHAT? How did you hear about Spin the Bottle?"

Rukia shrugged. "Keigo is having a party this weekend and invited me. He said that we'd play."

Turning completely red, Ichigo yelled, "You will NOT go to that party! Are you KIDDING ME?"

"What?" she said innocently. "It's just a party."

"Anything Keigo plans is _never_ 'just a party.' Especially if he invites you and not me."

"Actually..." Rukia began, turning around to grab something behind her. "He told me to give you this."

She held out a bright invitation to Ichigo and he took it. It said, "You're invited!" on it, along with several activities that they planned to play. Spin the Bottle was among Seven Minutes in Heaven, Truth or Dare, and Never Have I Ever. Ichigo cringed.

"There is _no way_ in _hell_ I am going to this party, and you're not going either."

Rukia pouted. "Why? All our friends are going and l want to go too!"

"NEVER."

So how was it, that two days later, Ichigo found himself on Keigo's front porch with Rukia beside him ringing the doorbell? _Ah, that's right,_ he thought, rubbing his sore head, _she pummled me until I agreed._ His head wasn't the only sore part of his body. His stomach, arms, legs, and other... regions... were stiff with pain too. How come she always won the "arguments"? It wasn't fair.

Keigo answered the door. "ICHIGOOOOO! RUKIAAAAAA!" He dropped on one knee and took the latter's hand. "M'lady," he said seductively, and proceeded to kiss her hand all over until Ichigo kicked him so that he flew through the open door.

"C'mon, Rukia, let's go in."

As they passed the badly beaten Keigo, he wimpered, "Why, Ichigo? Are we not friends? Why do you do this to your friends?" Tears streamed down his sorry face.

"Thanks, Ichigo," Rukia said as she followed him, stepping over Keigo's body.

He grunted in reply.

They walked into the living room where several people were already sitting and talking. Mizuiro sat with his arms around two older ladies, completely ignoring the rest of the room. Tatsuki was sitting on the floor talking to Inoue, who was sitting by Ishida and Chad on the couch. Both males nodded, but Inoue jumped up.

"Kurosaki-kun! Kuchiki-san! Hello! I'm glad you're here!" she bowed and showed them to yet another couch (_Where did Keigo get so much furniture? _Ichigo wondered).

Finally, Keigo recovered and walked into the living room, smiling. "Okay! Why don't we start playing a game! We could do Seven Minutes in Heaven," he said, giving Inoue a hopeful look.

Rukia spoke up. "How about Spin the Bottle! But I still don't know how to play..." She shot Ichigo a look.

Keigo looked just as happy with that. "Okay! I'll get the bottle! Inoue, you explain the rules to Rukia-chan." He ran out of the room enthusiastically.

"Well," Inoue started, "We all sit in the circle with a bottle in the middle. Then, someone spins the bottle. Whoever the bottle points at, that's the person that whoever spun it has to kiss." She turned a little pink at these words.

Rukia nodded and sat down, along with everyone else... except for Ichigo. The Substitute Shinigami instead went and sat on the couch.

"Kurosaki-kun!" Inoue said, a frown beginning to appear on her always-cheerful face. "Aren't you going to play with us?"

"No. No _way..._" Rukia shot him a look and cracked her knuckles. "...would I pass up the opportunity!" He moved to the floor and sat by a girl Mizuiro brought and Inoue. Rukia smirked in a way that seemed to say, "That's right, Ichigo. You know I'll beat your sorry ass if you _dared_ to opt out of this oh-so-interesting game."

Keigo came back with the bottle. Sitting beside Ishida and Inoue, he exclaimed, "I'll start!" and promptly spun the bottle. It landed back on himself. Keigo slumped in disappointment and Inoue spun.

"Ishida-kun! It landed on you!" She turned slightly red as the Quincy leaned over and kissed her, his hand resting slightly on her cheek. When they both pulled apart, they were beet red and avoiding any possible eye contact with everyone in the room.

"Okay, since Ishida got to kiss someone," Keigo started, "the person to his left will spin it next."

Everyone gave a cry of protest. Ishida said, "You're only saying that because YOU'RE sitting next to me and you didn't get to kiss anyone when you spun last time!"

Ichigo seemed to be the only one who didn't mind. He would be next if Keigo hadn't spoken up. He ignored the argument going on, which eventually Keigo won, pulling the I'm-the-host-here-so-I-make-the-rules card. Keigo spun again, and this time perked up when the bottle landed turned to one of the ladies that Mizuiro had brought. Keigo wiggled his eyebrows at her and leaned in. Their lips met, but only for a second before the girl leaned back and slapped Keigo across the face.

"You pervert!" She turned to the rest of the group. "He shoved his tongue down my throat the second we started kissing!"

Keigo wimpered as everyone in the group glared at him.

"Well... okay then. Anyways, back to the game, according to Keigo's rules, I'm next," Mizuiro said, grinning. He spun the bottle and it landed on his other lady friend, the one sitting to the right of Ichigo. He grinned, and leaned over. As they started kissing, Mizuiro scooted closer and sat by her and they deepened the kiss.

"Seriously, guys? Go get a room or something." Ichigo scowled. This was not his type of entertainment. He didn't even want to be here. The two broke away sheepishly and Mizuiro went back in place.

"Alright, Ichigo. You're next," Keigo told him.

"...I don't want to go. Skip me."

"No, come on, Kurosaki-kun!"

"Ichigo, you have to!"

"Kurosaki, do it, or I, on my honor as a Quincy, will obliterate you."

"What's a Quincy?" one of the girls Mizuiro brought asked.

"Ichigo. _NOW!"_ It was this that finally convinced Ichigo to reach down and spin the bottle; Rukia was glaring at him with such force he was sure that he could feel it. Sighing, and trying to act as if he weren't threatened and instead could care less, Ichigo leaned over and spun the bottle. He watched it spin and spin until finally, it stopped. Scared of who his fate was to kiss, he slowly glanced up. The bottle was pointing at the midget herself.

"Ah, oh... Okay. Well, Ichigo didn't want to go in the first place, so why don't we skip him?" Rukia asked, shifting uncomfortably. She was nervous; she knew she wanted to play, but kissing Ichigo...? She didn't know if she was quite ready for that.

Normally, Ichigo would _love_ going with Rukia's idea. However, he also _loved_ seeing her squirm. "Rukia, you wanted me to play, remember? We have to obide by the rules..." He leaned in close and, smiling at her look of shock and nevousness, whispered, "Don't worry; I won't bite."

Their lips met and for half of a second, everything was fine. Then, suddenly, Rukia pulled herself closer to him and wrapped her arms around his strong shoulders as the electricity between them surged. The tension built up between them over the course of however long they knew each other seemed to melt away as Ichigo began to push her over onto the floor as he deepened the kiss. His right arm was holding himself up off of the floor, his left around Rukia's waist. In turn, Rukia pushed up against him and moved one arm to his waist. They both ignored the cat-calls and sounds of protest until, finally, Ishida, red in the face, reached over and pulled them apart.

Ichigo was beet-red and he excused himself to the bathroom, avoiding any and all eye contact with Rukia. _What the HELL just happened?_ He wondered. Though he meant to only go to the restroom, the ended up running out the front door and all the way back home. He walked in and, surprisingly, was not attacked by his father. Instead, he found a note.

_Ichigo,_

_Yuzu and I are going to the clinic on a last minute emergency. We won't be back until late. Karin is at a friend's house for the evening._

_Please use this time to do a few things for me. 1) Find a girlfriend. 2) Give me a grandchild._

_Thank you, son. I will see you later._

_Dad_

Grumbling, Ichigo grabbed the note and crumpled it in one fist as he looked at the clock. It was already pretty late, so his idiot father might actually get home soon.

Ichigo almost laughed aloud when he realized that he might have actually succeeded on the first objective his father gave for him tonight... that is, if Rukia actually felt something for him. _She _did_ respond to that kiss,_ he thought to himself.

Lost in thought about the past hour's events, he went up to his room and closed the door behind him. When he turned around again, Rukia stood before him. He jumped back in alarm and pointed his finger at her.

"HOW THE HELL DID YOU GET IN HERE?" he screamed.

"The window," she said simply. Duh. She always got in through the window.

"WELL-WHA-WHY-HOW DID YOU GET HERE BEFORE I DID?" Ichigo was seriously freaking out.

Rukia ignored his question and sat down on his bed. "Ichigo..." she said slowly.

"W-what?"

She looked up at him. "What was that? The... kiss?"

Ichigo could _feel_ the dark red blush crawling onto his cheeks. "I don't know, Rukia." He went to sit down beside her.

"Did you... well, did you mean anything by it? Or was it just... were you... were you just being a boy?" she asked, focusing intently on the edge of her dress.

He turned to look at her. "Rukia..." When she looked up at him, though, he stopped talking. It was as if his throat closed up. Her big violet eyes almost looked hurt. He didn't like that. At all. With a moment's hesitation, he reached over and gently took her head in his hand. Slowly, he inched closer and captured his lips with hers.

When they pulled apart, Rukia smiled slightly. "Good," she said, and then leaned in once again.

This time, though, they were interrupted by the door being blasted open. "ICHIGOOOOO! Oh, my son! I am so proud of you! Finally taking instruction from his father and giving me my most desired grandchi-"

Isshin was cut off by Ichigo's fist on his jaw. "Leave us alone, Dad."

The rejected father slowly got to his feet and walked sullenly out the door. Before he turned the corner, however, he looked at them and said, "I can't wait for my grandchildren, Ichigo and my third daughter! Thank you!"

Ichigo rolled his eyes and turned back to Rukia, who was glaring at him. He sighed and said, "What did I do this time?"

"You ruined the moment." She stood up and walked to her -his- closet, got in, and shut the door.

"R-Rukia! I didn't ruin it, my sad excuse for a father did!"

"Forget it, Ichigo, I'll see you in the morning."

"Rukiaaaaaa!"

"Stuff it, Strawberry!"

"Midget!"

"Ass-face!"

"Pipsqueak!"

The closet door opened slightly as Rukia threw a pillow at his face.

Despite the slight pain that his face was now in due to the especially speedy pillow, Ichigo smiled. _Some things, _he thought, _will never change._

_A/N: Yeah, so that was weird, and albeit kinda mushy, sappy, et cetera. Sorry. But I like a little sap occasionally... on my pancakes and my IchiRuki. Hopefully it wasn't too much. I dunno, what did you think? Let me know! I love your reviews!_

_Also, thanks to the two people that let me know which ones they wanted first. Haha, sorry that I couldn't pick both, but since it was a tie, I flipped a coin and this one won. I put off putting any up in hopes that someone else would give me their input, but it didn't happen. Oh, well. "The Proposal" will be up tomorrow!_

**Review or on his honor as a Quincy, Ishida will beat yo' ass! Not really, though, because he's a fictional character with fictional abilities. Sorry to break it to you...**


	11. The Proposal

_A/N: This is a continuation of "Blessings," chapter 7 of my series. I hope you enjoy!_

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach. But how old is Kubo? Maybe I can still marry him and get him to give me half of the rights! ...Okay, shut up, I know it'll never happen.

THE PROPOSAL

"Rukia! Are you ready to go yet?" Ichigo called up the stairs to his girlfriend. He was nervous. Tonight he was going to propose to her... and although he knew that she loved him, he didn't know how she would react to the whole marriage... thing...

"I'm coming!" Rukia came walking down the stairs and Ichigo's breath caught in his throat. She was wearing a satin indigo dress that came to her mid thigh. It had a plunging neckline that showed off her modest cleavage and ruffled sleeves. The material swished around her body as she walked; she looked more like she was flying to Ichigo. Her neck held a pearl necklace that Ichigo had given her for their two-year anniversary and her shoes actually added about three inches to her height. That is, until she tripped and came falling down the stairs. Luckily, she was near the bottom and Ichigo could catch her.

"Rukia, be careful," he whispered into her ear once she had fallen into his arms.

She leaned back a little and smirked at him. "How do you know that I didn't do that on purpose?"

He gave her a quick kiss before setting her on the ground. "Because you're more clumsy than anyone I know, especially with heels on." He stood back, taking her all in at once. "Rukia... You look... so... so... wow."

She smiled shyly up at him. "Thanks, Strawberry. You look pretty nice, too." The truth was, in fact, that he looked incredibly handsome, but she wasn't about to admit it. He was wearing a tux with a bow tie, shiny dress shoes, and the colone she had bought him for his birthday. His hair had been slicked back slightly so that it didn't look as crazy but still looked a little messy, giving him the ruggardly handsome look.

He held out a hand to her. "You ready to go?" She took his hand and nodded. "All right then. This way, my lady," the substitute shinigami said as he pushed open the door and let her walk out in front of him, still holding onto his hand.

They walked in silence to his car before he ran in front of her to open the car door for her, allowing her simply to slide in before he shut it. He quickly jogged to the other side of the vehicle and got in, turning the key in the ignition and pulling out of the driveway. He placed a hand on her knee as he drove, and she smiled at the slight warmth it gave her leg. He would occasionally slide his thumb back and forth as he kept his hand there, and she swooned at his touch.

"Ichigo... where are we going again?"

"We have reservations at _Le Poisson Bleu _at seven," he told her yet _again,_ but he didn't really mind; tonight was going to be perfect.

Rukia looked at the clock on the dashboard. "But Ichigo... it's already 6:50. We're going to be late."

The nervous orange-head chuckled. "Well, maybe if you didn't take so long looking _beyond beautiful_, we'd have been there on time," he teased playfully.

The petite woman paused. "...I don't know whether to smack you for implying that it takes work looking this good or kiss you for calling me beyond beautiful."

Ichigo pretended to think about it. "Hmm... well, I think I'd prefer the kiss, but how about after we get out of the car so we don't wreck?"

"Baka," she said, smiling slightly.

"Midget."

"Shut up, Strawberry."

"Will do... pipsqueak," he added under his breath.

Rukia turned to glare at him. "I heard that, stupid," she said, giving him a playful punch on the arm.

"Ow!" Ichigo complained, pretending to be in pain. "What did I say about waiting until we were done driving?"

The raven-haired girl smiled sweetly and spoke in the voice that Ichigo hated. "Oh, right, sorry, darling. I'll wait until we're out of the car to kick your ass next time."

"Thanks."

"No problem."

Finally, Ichigo pulled into the restaurant's parking lot. It was crowded, but since it was only 7:03, he wasn't worried. After parking and turning off the ignition, he ran to the opposite side of the car to open the door for Rukia, holding out a hand for her to help her slide out. Again, he was struck with how beautiful she looked tonight.

"Thanks, Ichi."

"Shall we?" The substitute shinigami held out his arm in order to escort her to the doors and she accepted it, linking her arm around his.

"We shall," she said smiling slightly.

The two walked together to the front doors and, upon arriving there, Ichigo held the door open for her, allowing her to go in before him.

"Reservations for two under the name Kurosaki," he told the woman behind the podium.

"Ah, yes, I have you down here for 7... Please follow me." With that, she led them to a small, two-person table next to a large window with a great view. "Here are your menus, and your waitress will be here shortly to take your drink orders."

"Thank you," Ichigo said, not taking his eyes off of the woman in indigo sitting across from him.

She, however, was looking at the hostess, who appeared to be _very_ interested in Ichigo. Rukia wanted to tear her eyes out, or even just yell, "HE'S MINE, BITCH!" but thought that her dinner-mate might not appreciate that, let alone the restaurant. She decided on glaring daggers at the woman until she left. Finally, she turned to see Ichigo still staring at her, a small smile formed on his lips.

"What?" she asked, somewhat surprised to see him staring at her.

He shook his head. "Nothing... I just love you." He smiled again, reaching his hand over the table to hold hers.

Why was she worried about the hostess, again? "I love you, too, Ichigo."

They shared a dainty meal, talking about everyday events. At one point, Rukia's soul pager went off, but Ichigo had just lowered the hand that held it. "I asked Renji to take it over for tonight," he had told her simply. Once they were done eating, he had asked for the check and paid. Then, standing and offering a hand again to Rukia, which she took, he told her, "I have a few surprises for you yet."

He led her out the door and she gasped when she saw what was waiting for them. It was a carriage led by two large white horses. A coachman saw them and quickly opened the door for them to get inside, but Rukia squealed and instead ran to the horses.

"Ichigo! Look at them!" she called excitedly. "They're so beautiful!"

He walked over to her and the horses and began to stroke one of them, smiling at his girlfriend. "D'you like them?"

"Yes! I like them a lot, Ichigo. Thank you!"

"Excuse me," the coachman said, clearing his throat. The two turned to see him holding the door expectantly and looking a little awkward. "You're not really supposed to touch the horses."

After apologizing and climbing into the carriage, Ichigo grabbed Rukia's hand and held her close. She snuggled up to him in turn and gave him an earth-shattering smile. "Thank you, Ichigo. Tonight... has been amazing."

He leaned in to brush his lips against hers, returning her smile. "It's not over yet," he told her.

The carriage started suddenly, giving the couple a lurch forward. Ichigo caught Rukia and they both laughed, sitting back into their seats and admiring the city as they rode through it. The sun had already set and now it was dark, the stars shining bright and the streets illuminated by street lamps. Various street performers littered the streets; they passed by a man blowing giant bubbles, a group of children playing with sparklers, and several musicians. After riding to the other side of the city, the carriage came to a stop at the Karakutura Zoo.

Ichigo got out first and offered a hand to Rukia to help her out. When she didn't pay attention, caught up in the atmosphere of the city at night, he picked her up at her waist and lifted her, spinning, out of the carriage and onto the ground. She giggled and put her arms around his neck. Once both feet were firmly on the ground, she stood on her tip toes and gave him a kiss.

When they broke apart, Ichigo grabbed her hand and pulled her into the zoo. "Come on, there's still a couple surprises left."

They walked by several animals, Rukia stopping and admiring each one. She was like a little kid in the zoo for the first time, and, Ichigo reminded himself, it probably was her first time. He continued holding her hand as he led her through the windy paths and exibits, stopping for some hot chocolate on the way to the main event.

As they walked by the elephants, Rukia started shivering and pulled her coat closer to her small body. "Here," Ichigo said, handing her his jacket. She began to protest, claiming that he'd be cold, but he just said, "Che. Shut up midget and get warm. I'll be fine." With a step on his foot, she did as he said.

Finally, the two got to Ichigo's final destination: the zoo bridge. It was located over the duck pond and since it was near the holidays, tiny twinkling lights ran all the way up and down it. Somewhere nearby, an orchestra played, and the orange-haired shinigami stopped her in the middle of the bridge and began to sway with her.

When the band finished the song, they broke apart slightly and Ichigo turned and looked over the pond below. "Look at it all, Rukia. Isn't it amazing?"

She nodded and smiled. "It is."

They stood in silence for a little while before Ichigo turned to her, turning the ring box over and over nervously in his pocket. "Rukia..." She looked at him, her indigo eyes smiling and wide, listening to him. "Before you came into my life, I was a mess. I still blamed myself for my mother's death, I was being teased in school, and I was seeing ghosts more and more. The rain was falling in my inner world constantly and I was drowning.

"But then you came, and the rain stopped." He brushed her bangs out of her face and caressed her cheek. "You made it stop. I love you more than anything else in the world, this one or Soul Society or Hueco Mundo or any other damn world there may be." He lowered on one knee and brought out the ring box, opening it to reveal a large diamond ring. "Kuchiki Rukia, I love you and I want to spend the rest of my life and death with you, fighting, arguing, teasing, talking, kissing, killing hollows, having kids, loving, and anything else you want to do. Will you marry me?"

Rukia gasped when he had brought out the ring and began tearing up during his speech. When he asked for her hand, though, she was speechless. Tears ran down her cheeks as she nodded, throwing her arms around his shoulders and kissing him passionately. They broke apart breifly, both of them crying joyously, to put the ring on her dainty finger. Coming in again for a hug, Rukia was vaguely aware of clapping all around them.

"Wait..." Ichigo started, pulling slightly away from her. "You still haven't technically agreed. Is it a yes, midget?"

"Baka. Of course it's a yes. I love you, too, my Strawberry." Their lips met again in a flurry of movement.

On their way back to the car (which was still on the other side of town), holding hands, Rukia had a question. "Ichigo... this isn't a pistol wedding, is it?"

"What?" What the hell was a pistol wedding? Horrible thoughts entered the substitute's brain as he imagined Rukia in her wedding dress trying to shoot everyone. He shuddered.

"Because of the baby. A pistol wedding."

Ichigo thought for a moment. "Do you mean a shotgun wedding?" She nodded. "No, I've wanted to ask you for a while now, but the baby distracted me for a little bit, in a good way."

"Aa." They walked in silence for a little longer before Rukia started chuckling.

"What?"

"Oh, I was just thinking of what Nii-sama's reaction will be. You know, to the whole us getting married thing." She loved saying those words. _Us getting married, us getting married, us getting married..._ she repeated over and over again in her head.

Ichigo chuckled, too. "Well, he almost used his zanpakuto and shredded me, but I talked him into it."

"You already told him? He knows?"

"Aa. I asked him for his blessing, and he gave us both that _and_ his permission. I was surprised he didn't just kill me instead. His reaction was pretty funny. He almost showed some emotion."

Rukia hit her _fiance_ over the head. "Baka! I wanted to see that!"

"Don't worry," he assured her, rubbing his head with his free hand. "I taped it."

"Really? Oh, Ichigo! Tonight is truly the best night _EVER!"_

"I thought you'd want to see it." Ichigo chuckled a little at her glowing smile. "I also called him Nii-sama once he agreed. It was _classic._"

Rukia skipped in excitement. "Let's watch it as soon as we get home!" she squealed.

"Yes ma'am."

"And don't call me ma'am."

"Okay, future Mrs. Kurosaki..."

Rukia smiled. She liked the sound of that.

_A/N: AWW! I think this is adorable. Mostly fluff and sap, but I mean, how can you have a proposal _without_ sap? It's impossible._

_So I decided to sort of do a mini-series within this series of one-shots. They'll still be one-shots, but they'll be based off of one another, and I'll be sure to clarify which ones are part of this and which aren't. As I said at the beginning, this is a continuation of "Blessings" (Chapter 7). I'll probably do the wedding (maybe in two parts or more) and a couple other one-shots as a married or engaged life. Also the birth of the child (I'll take name suggestions!) and Byakuya finding out about the baby._

_I'd also like to thank my reviewers and those of you who have favorited my story thus far! I love you all! I'd propose to all of you... if it was legal, but I have a feeling it's not. I really love hearing from you and it really, really does help me to write more. So, if you want more IchiRuki from me, and you review, you'll probably get more. Soon I'll actually have to write one a day, which will be more difficult for me to do, so I might cut down and only update every couple of days. I dunno, you guys might like that better, and that's fine. But let me know if that is the case. If not, then you need to review more so that I'll write more, haha._

_I tried to put this up as early since it was a tie to which one would go first. But I think I saved the better one for later. What about you?_

_Oh, and in case I haven't said it enough yet..._

**REVIEW! If you do, I will personally rent a carriage with two white horses to take you wherever you need for a day... but not really, because 1) I don't know who you are or where you live, and 2) I really don't have the money to do such things.**


	12. The End

_A/N: Set to future. I think the time period(s) kinda explain themselves as you get to them. No spoilers. Enjoy!_

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach. Seriously. My mom buys it, I just use it.

THE END

_Ichigo pushed the door quietly open, trying not to alert her of his presence. He heard the music from downstairs and knew what she was doing because of the footsteps he had heard from below. She was dancing. It wasn't the fast, erotic dancing that most people their age did. No, it was graceful, but not awkward. It was beautiful. He felt himself smile as he watched her dance in silence, her eyes closed and her raven-black hair swirling all around her face. A small, peaceful smile was on her lips as she raised her hands over her head and lept across the room, landing gracefully on her toes and spinning around..._

"RUKIA!" But he knew it was too late; the hollow had already distracted her enough to slice into her. Her eyes widened in surprise before she started to fall. Rain poured relentlessly as she fell, down, down, down...

_She gasped, her eyes lighting up as she ran closer to the flashing lights. "Ichigo! What are these?" she asked excitedly, trying to catch one._

_"They're fireflies," he told her, amused at her enthusiasm._

_Her violet eyes widened as she looked at them. "Fireflies," she said slowly, testing out the new word. After she was satisfied that she said it correctly, she began to try to catch one again. "Ichigo, help me!" she called to him._

_Trying to act annoyed, he stood up and sighed. He walked over to her and told her, "You have to be gentle when you try to catch them, but still quick. Like this." He caught one in his large cupped hands and then opened them slightly for Rukia to see. She opened her mouth slightly in awe as it lit up the dark space between his hands. She reached up and grabbed one, giggling when she felt it crawl all over her hand._

_"Sometimes people take put them in jars so that they can see the fireflies' glow through the night. Do you want to?" he asked her._

_She seemed to think it over, but then opened her hands and let the tiny bug fly away. "No... I would hate to be put in a jar. I'd rather be free and caught every so often, just to be let go. I think it's more flattering to be admired but respected enough to keep free."_

_Ichigo smiled. She always said the best things._

Quickly disposing of the hollow, Ichigo ran over to her fallen body, dropping his zanpakuto on the way over. "Rukia," he said. He could feel his eyes prickling as he heard her labored breathing. _But,_ he reminded himself, _she was still breathing._ "Rukia, it'll be all right, just you wait, hold tight. Urahara should be here soon. It'll be okay, you'll be okay."

"Ichigo..."

_His lips found hers softly as his hands caressed her creamy cheeks. She put her arms around his neck and leaned into the kiss. One of his hands let go of her face and found her waist instead. The kiss was gentle and slow; it was their first kiss, and Ichigo wanted it to be special. Not rough, not hurried, not full of expectations, but proof of his love for her and the patience he would have with her for the length of their newly founded relationship._

_They broke apart as gently as they had come together, both of their eyes half lidded and their mouths smiling. "Rukia..."_

_"What, Ichigo?"_

_He looked deep in her eyes before saying, "I love you."_

He held her hand with urgency. "Rukia, don't do this to me. Hold on, Urahara will be here real soon and he'll patch you up." Tears were falling freely now, but Rukia just smiled.

"Ichigo, it's okay." She reached up to caress his face. "It's time for me to go."

_"Why have you asked us to gather?" Byakuya's face was cold and he was already glaring at Ichigo. Isshin, however, was grinning, looking back and forth from his son to Rukia expectantly._

_"Well... we have something to tell you all," Rukia said, smiling._

_Yuzu smiled encouragingly, but Karin was being impatient. "What is it already? I have a soccer game at 1:30."_

_"Karin, it's only noon," Ichigo told her, feeling a little irritated that she couldn't wait for two minutes._

_"Whatever. My point is I don't have all day. What is it?"_

_Rukia took Ichigo's hand and they smiled at each other. "Well," Ichigo started, turning back to their families. "We're engaged. To be married."_

_A vast variety of reactions ensued. Byakuya sat shocked in his place on the couch, Isshin jumped up, cheering, and ran over to pull Yuzu, who was grinning widely with tears silently streaming down her face, into a hug, and Karin just stood up and walked out of the room, mumbling something about "it's about time."_

_Ichigo just squeezed Rukia's hand and smiled down at her again. She smiled back up at him and squeezed his hand back._

"Don't say that! It's not time yet, dammit!" Ichigo scolded, tears coming steadily down his cheeks and falling on Rukia's face. "It was just a stupid hollow! You'll be fine! You've fought arrancar and espada! You'll be fine, you'll be fine, you'll be fine..."

"Ichigo. All it takes is one mistake," she told him. "One moment of not paying attention, one blind spot, one soar of your ego. The most minor of things can get you when you're most vulnerable."

His eyes met hers. "It's not fair."

_"Rukia! I'm home!" Ichigo called, closing the door with his foot behind him. "Rukia?"_

_"In here!" she called from their bedroom. He ran up the stairs and walked into the room, coming over to her and kissing her gently._

_"Hi, there."_

_She smiled at him. "Hi."_

_"How was your day?" he asked, keeping one arm around her waist and using the other to brush back her hair._

_"Good... But Ichigo..." She looked down at her hands that were nervously plucking at the hem of her shirt._

_"What? What is it?" he said worridly. "Are you okay?"_

_She nodded and then looked up at him. Finally, she smiled cautiously. "I'm pregnant."_

_His eyes widened with shock before he smiled hugely and picked her up, spinning her around the room as they both laughed._

"Ichigo... You have to let me go."

"No, I won't. I can't," he pleaded, pressing his forehead gently to hers.

She smiled sadly at him. "You have to. For the kids. For me."

"Rukia... I won't. I can't. It's not fair!"

"Ichigo, look at me. I need you to do this." She reached up, using just about all of the strength she had left, and pressed her lips to his.

_They laid in bed, side by side, and waited. Finally, Ichigo whispered, "Here she comes."_

_Their bedroom door was slowly pushed open and a dark-haired young girl shuffled in. "Mommy... Daddy... can I sleep in your bed tonight?"_

_Ichigo smiled sweetly at the young girl. "Of course, Hisana."_

_She crawled onto their bed and laid between them, her eyes already drooping with exhaustion. She reached up and kissed Ichigo on the cheek, then Rukia, and then Rukia's bulging stomach. "Goodnight, Daddy, goodnight, Mommy, goodnight, otouto-chan."_

_She snuggled under their covers and quickly fell asleep. Rukia looked at Ichigo and smiled. "Now we can finally get some sleep."_

_Ichigo chuckled quietly. "We really should be able to sleep without her, but... I don't know... I just can't."_

_His wife smiled at him. "Me neither." They leaned in over their sleeping daughter and brushed their lips together. "Good night, Ichigo."_

_"Good night, Rukia. Good night, Kichiro." Soon, all four of them were asleep._

He shook his head once they pulled apart. "Rukia..."

"...Ichi...go..." Her breathing was labored to the point of almost being non-existant now. "I... love... you..."

"Rukia, I love you, too... But don't leave me, not yet."

"Tell... the kids... I love them... too..." With that, Rukia's last breath was exhaled and her eyelids closed.

"Rukia. Rukia! RUKIA!" Ichigo held her in his arms and sobbed over her limp body, the rain falling as steadily as his tears.

_A/N: :( Sorry if that was depressing. But that's the kind of mood I've been in the past couple days, so I decided to write this. I hope you liked it even if it was sad. I like the flash backs a lot. I thought of some of them before, but they weren't long enough to actually make full one-shots out of, so I finally found a place to use them in! YAY!_

_Thanks to _**darklover**_ for pointing out that "onii-chan" means "older brother!" Edited it to correct translation._

_Anyways, thanks to all my reviewers! I love you all! I have officially reached a quarter of a hundred! :) That makes me happy. Hopefully, I'll get the next one finished in time to get it up tomorrow! It's called "Side Effects." If not tomorrow, then it'll be up Thursday. I have one more written already, but I don't like it very much. Anyways..._

**REVIEW! Or I'll kill of more characters that don't belong to me... MUAH HA HA HA!**


	13. Side Effects

_A/N: Time is probably Substitute arc, doesn't really matter too much, though. No spoilers. Sorry if the end sucks. I like the beginning, though!_

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach. I have been reading the manga again, though, yay! (That's as close as I'll probably ever get... sadface.)

SIDE EFFECTS

"C'mon, Ichigo. We should go home," Rukia said, dragging a slightly wounded Ichigo back to his house.

"Rukia, I'm fine. We should go back to school," Ichigo protested, trying to pull her the opposite way. "It's just a scratch."

The petite shinigami knew that this was true... for once. But she couldn't help but be worried. "But Ichigo... Didn't you hear what it said?"

He scoffed. "A load of bullshit, I think. Let's just go back to school."

Hesitating, Rukia finally agreed. "Okay, if you're sure." She couldn't help but add, "But don't blame me if you embarrass yourself. I warned you."

"Whatever."

As they changed their course and walked back to school, Rukia let her mind go back to the fight that had ensued just a few minutes ago...

_The Hollow barely grazed Ichigo's arm, but he started laughing hysterically when he saw a bit of blood gush from the wound. Ichigo looked at it, then turned back to the Hollow, wondering if it were insane. Raising an eyebrow, he said, "You barely touched me. Why are you so happy?"_

_Still laughing, the Hollow replied, "It's my power. I admit, it's not very helpful unless this battle goes on for another hour or two, but still... I still get excited whenever I get to use it."_

_Ichigo was losing patience. He sighed. "What's your freakin' power? Come on, now, I don't have all day."_

_The Hollow pretended to ponder. "Hmm... should I tell you? Or should I make you find out by yourself?"_

_The orange-haired substitute was _really_ annoyed now. "Either shut the hell up and fight me or spit it out already, or I'll just end this quickly right here and now."_

_"Ooh, touchy. You know, patience is a virtue. But..." he paused. "I guess I'll tell you. I wanna see the look on your face."_

_Ichigo snarled. "Hurry up then!"_

_"I'm getting there. Well, my power is very unique. Some Hollows don't even have extra powers, but I was very... persuasive as a human, so a little of that carried over into my Hollow life. Whenever I make a direct hit and draw blood from an opponent, there's quite an... interesting... side effect. Mind you, it doesn't kick in until an hour or two, depending on the body I attack. But when it does, it's the most hilarious thing I've ever seen. Sometimes. Sometimes it's just annoying."_

_Speaking of annoying, Ichigo was beyond annoyance. He was so irritated that he was gritting his teeth as he muttered, "Get to the damn point already."_

_The Hollow chuckled. "All right, all right. When I draw blood, I release a chemical into the blood stream that, once it is completely immersed, causes the person I hit to have a tendency to... mmm... be slightly more honest than normal. And more open. In fact, they often can't keep their mouth shut."_

_Ichigo rolled his eyes. "Is that it? I don't believe it. I waited all this time for THAT?" He was really pissed now. "Like that'd happen to me. Let's just get this over with, liar."_

Ichigo had ended the fight quickly and brushed the whole "side effect" thing off just as speedily, but Rukia wasn't so sure. She was a little worried that it would actually work, and while it would be quite funny to see, she wasn't sure if she was ready for his bitching or the countless people that would no doubt find out about him being a shinigami if the Hollow told the truth. Plus... she didn't know if that was the _only_ side effect, and didn't really care to find out. But Ichigo had given the final word, so they were off to school now.

When they finally reached their destination, they walked into the room and apologized to their teacher, saying that they had yet _another_ family crisis.

"Man, your families seem to have quite a few problems, don't they?" Ochi-sensi wondered out loud.

"You don't know the half of it," Ichigo muttered mostly to himself.

Class continued for another hour before she dismissed the students for lunch. The Substitute group made their way to their normal spot and sat down, getting their lunches out and begining to talk and eat. As usual, Inoue brought enough to share, and while the rest of the group politely refused, Ichigo was a little more blunt.

"Inoue, no one wants to eat that garbage. It's disgusting," he said nonchalantly. The rest of the group gasped and stared at him gaping.

The busty red-head put her head down in shame. "I-I'm sorry, Kurosaki-kun. I didn't mean t-to offend you." She attempted to take a bite of her rice, honey, anchovy, and mustard "salad," but after lifting the food to her lips, she started shaking as tears welled up in her eyes. After muttering a quiet, "I'm sorry," she stood and ran, leaving her "garbage" behind her.

Ishida glared daggers at Ichigo before saying, "That was really mean, Kurosaki. I hope you're happy." He stood and ran after her.

Tatsuki, on the other hand, stayed behind to beat Ichigo's ass. She kicked him in the stomach and he fell over. Jumping on top of him, the female fighter started repeatedly punching him in the face, ignoring his protests. Chad, however, didn't let it get too far, and stood up, pulling Tatsuki away.

"I think he gets the message," he told the girl, who was fighting against his strong arms so that she could get back to beating him senseless.

"ICHIGO! How dare you insult the beautiful, charming Orihime like that!" Keigo shouted, pointing a finger at him with tears streaming down his face. "However," he stopped and thought for a moment, "perhaps she needs a shoulder to cry on..."

Chizuru looked excited when she, too, seemed to only think of the perks of this arrangement. "Yes, a delicate, beautiful flower such as Hime needs to be comforted by someone who understands, another woman... Perhaps she'll even be comforted by a little-" She was cut off by Tatsuki's fist down her throat.

The sad part was that Keigo actually looked as though he could trade up molesting Inoue for watching another girl do it for him. His eyes were glazed over and a little drool was rolling off of his chin.

"Cut it out, pervert!" Ichigo yelled, aiming a kick at Keigo's face. He hit it, and the teenage boy flew across the roof. He then looked down guiltily at his hands. "I don't know why I said that." Everyone seemed to ease up on him a bit, that is, until he added, "But we all know it's true."

Before anyone else could kill Ichigo, Rukia quickly stood up and grabbed the idiot's arm, dragging him away. "Ooookkayyyy, heh, heh, I think we need to go and... um... get some fresh air!"

"Bitch! Let me go! I want to keep eating my lunch! Let me go, midget!" he yelled, kicking his feet and trying to get past her. She ignored him and kept dragging him off.

"What's up with him?" Tatsuki asked. Everyone else just shugged.

"Before you say anything else idiotic," Rukia muttered darkly, "let's get you to Urahara's quickly. I don't want you giving your opinion on everything forever."

"Rukia! Let me walk, okay? You're right; this is that bastard Hollow's fault." Ichigo slapped a hand over his mouth; he couldn't believe that he just admitted that she was right. And to make it worse, "You're always right."

Even muffled through his hand, Rukia knew what he said and smirked. "I know," she said smugly.

"Let me go! If you do, I'll run back to the school. AARGGG! Why am I telling you this?" he shouted angrily.

This situation was proving to be quite entertaining, not to mention useful, for Rukia.

"You know, you're really, really short."

Or not. "Ichigo, you bastard, keep moving or so help me, I will knock you out! And shut the HELL up!"

"You're scary when you're angry," he told her. _Shit,_ he thought, _why can't I just keep my mouth shut?_

Rukia smiled again. "Good," she said simply and continued dragging him to the Urahara shop.

Finally, they got there, but it wasn't a fun journey for the orange-haired shinigami. He had divulged that he often ate her lunch when she wasn't looking, her hair smelled good, and that he didn't really mind Ishida's company; he was a lot like him. And those weren't even the _worst_ he had told her about. He also clued her into the fact that he has a morning ritual of practicing his scowling in the mirror, he was the one who threw her Chappy doll away, he used to take ballet class when he was a kid, _and_ that his dream was to become the lead guitarist in a rock band. He couldn't seem to keep his mouth closed, and he sure as hell wasn't enjoying their time together. He just wanted Urahara to hurry up an cure him no matter what the cost.

Rukia opened the door of the shop slowly. "Urahara-san?" she called.

"Welcome!" he greeted her happily. "What can I do for you today?"

"You can shut the hell up and cure me," Ichigo said, scowling.

"Yari, yari! How rude!" Urahara looked him up and down. "But... you don't seem to be injured. What would you like me to cure you of? Sickness? Rudeness? Perhaps," he gasped, "homosexuality?"

Ichigo growled. "I'm _NOT_ gay, you idiot! I happen to like women. In fact," he added, looking Rukia up and down appreciatively, "I find you very attractive, midget."

Besides a deep blush, the raven-haired girl ignored this. "He was cut by a Hollow that has the ability to cause its victims to say the truth, and whatever it is that they're thinking, it seems," she explained. "Is there a cure? Or will he be putting his foot in his mouth forever?"

Urahara seemed to think for a minute, analyzing Ichigo as he did so. "Hmm... why don't we go in the back and we'll do some question and answer about this Hollow... and maybe some other things. I'll see what I can do after that."

"If you pry into my personal life, I _will_ beat you to a pulp," Ichigo warned. The shop owner just chuckled.

The three went to the back and sat down. "Now, Kurosaki, I need to ask you a few questions first," Urahara explained. "Then we can get to experimenting!" The shopkeeper's face lit up at the thought.

"Whatever," Ichigo said, trying to keep his mouth shut as much as possible.

"First question! Are you ill?"

"No."

"Do you have a fever?"

"No."

"Is there a chance that you may have any forgein disease? Such as an STD?"

Ichigo's eyes widened in shock. "N-no! Is this really relevant?"

"Ah, Kurosaki, I need to know whether or not something I do while I experiment on you could kill you. So," he continued, "next question. Are you pregnant?"

"WHAT THE HELL?" Ichigo yelled. "I'M A GUY! I CAN'T EVEN GET PREGNANT!"

Urahara calmly checked a box and muttered, "Well, you never know..."

Ichigo's blood was boiling, but he sat back down and waited for more questions. "Let's just get this over with. I don't like missing more school than I have to."

"Why's that? Is there a girl...? Perhaps Inoue-san?" Urahara nudged him suggestively.

"No! Inoue and I are just friends. I prefer shorter, more flat-chested girls with black hair," he said without being able to stop it from coming out. A deep blush crawled on his cheeks. He closed his mouth before he let anything else slip.

"Ichigo..." Rukia had, until now, been quiet. A blush much like the strawberry's sat on her cheeks, too. She tried to hide it as she kicked him in the stomach. "D-don't call me short! Or flat-chested!"

"Ah, Rukia-san," Urahara pointed out with a grin, "he never said anything about liking _you_."

Somehow, Rukia's face got more red.

It took all of Ichigo's concentration _not_ to say anything at that point. He could feel the words bubbling up in his throat, waiting to jump out, but he kept shoving them down. Urahara asked a few more _pointless_ questions, but to answer them, Ichigo either nodded or shook his head. Finally, the shop owner stood up.

"I'm going to run a few tests if you two would like to stay here. I just need one more thing..." He leaned over Ichigo's head and plucked a single hair from his scalp.

"OW! What the hell was that for?" Ichigo yelled with his hand holding his head.

Urahara just smiled. "I needed a sample of DNA. You understand. Now I'll be right back." And with that, he left the room, leaving the two awkward shinigamis alone.

"Uh... Rukia..."

"Ichigo, let's just wait quietly." Rukia didn't feel like hearing any more _confessions_.

"Oh... All right." For a full thirty seconds, Ichigo actually could keep his mouth shut. His will to do so had decreased a little since Urahara had left. Little did he know that not only Urahara, but Tessai, Jinta, and Ururu were watching with popcorn from the next room. "Rukia, I need to tell you something."

All four onlookers leaned forward in their seats. "W-what, Ichigo?"

"I was the one who -"

"Ichigo. I don't want to know if you threw away, ripped up, or flushed another one of my Chappy dolls. I always suspected you, anyways."

Ichigo sat back, looking a little relieved and a little puzzled all at once. "Well, it was me."

Rukia just sighed. "What's taking Urahara so long?"

"Rukia, it's only been two minutes."

"Still."

"...I'm terrified of spiders."

"Ichigo."

"I usually just sweep all the dust out into the hallway when I clean."

"Ichigo!"

"I used to have a crush on Tatsuki when we were twelve."

"Ichigo, I don't want to kn-"

"I'm over it now."

"I don't care! Just shut-"

"I like someone else now."

Rukia remained quiet, her breath coming out a little roughly now. She wanted to tell him to shut up, but she also wanted to hear the answer to so many girls' question. "...Who?" she finally asked, giving in to her curiosity rather than common sense.

Ichigo looked her in the eye and opened his mouth, ready to speak. He closed it again, a blush staining his cheeks yet again. Finally, he admitted a single word. "You."

Rukia's mouth dropped in surprise. "Ichigo..."

"Okay! The tests are in!" Urahara came bouncing back into the room, grinning like a madman since he had finally heard what he had been waiting for. In reality, he didn't need to do any testing; he had seen this type of thing before.

Ichigo looked at the man excitedly. "Really? What about them? What's the verdict?"

"Well," Urahara started, "it will fade on it's own in a day or two. Or, I can give you an antidote and it'll stop instantly. Your desicion."

"Are you stupid? Antidote, please." Ichigo held out a hand, waiting.

"Okay, but you should know that I'm going to charge you for it."

"Whatever, I don't care, just give it to me!"

Urahara grinned. "Okay..."

After getting the antidote and administrating it, the two customers were seen to the door by Urahara. "I'll bill you! Have a nice day! Come back soon!"

The two walked home silently, not knowing what to say. When the got back to the clinic, school being long over, they silently went up to Ichigo's room. Rukia got in her closet and closed the door, grabbing a manga. Ichigo went straight to his bed and collapsed on it, thoughts running a million miles a minute in his head. Rukia had the same problem. She didn't know whether to admit her feelings as well or go on pretending like nothing had happened. Finally, she made a desicion. Sitting up, she slid the door open just enough for her face to peek through.

"Ichigo." Said shinigami snapped his head up to look at her. "Me too," she said with a smile before slamming the door back closed.

Ichigo felt a smile creep up on his lips. However, it quickly faded when something flew through his door and landed on his lap. It was... a bill? From Urahara? To be honest, he thought that the shop keeper was simply joking when he said he'd bill him. Shrugging, Ichigo opened the letter and pulled out the slip of paper within.

"WHAT?" he screamed. "3222799 YEN*?"

_A/N: *3222799 yen is about 40,000 U.S. dollars. I wouldn't want to pay that, would you? Haha. Anyway, sorry if the ending kinda sucked. I didn't know what to do with it, so I just wrote what you see there. I've been having a bit of writer's block lately. Well, mostly I keep getting distracted, but... I started reading the manga again for some inspiration, but it ended up just consuming me, haha. But I got this done! Hurray!_

_Thanks to all of my reviewers! I will reply to all reviews thus far that I haven't already replied to today, as I will do this every Wednesday. If you posted multiple reviews, I'll probably just send you one PM so you don't have like 7. Thank you! As always, keep reviewing because it really does keep me writing and happy. It makes my day to hear the little *ding* sound that signals that I have mail._

**PLEASE REVIEW! Do I sound like a broken record yet? Yet? Yet? Yet? Yet? Yet? Yet?**


	14. Through Her Eyes

_A/N: This is in the Substitute Arc, before Rukia is taken. No spoilers (Besides the one in the previous sentence, haha.)_

Disclamer: I do not own Bleach. However... I would LOVE to borrow it sometime...

THROUGH HER EYES

I watched them as they walked along the street bickering. Kurosaki-kun was getting hit over the head by Kuchiki-san. He yelled at her, she yelled back, and then they turned their backs from each other in anger. Or was it? Anyone watching on the sidelines could see what I saw, why didn't they? I was hoping it was because maybe, just maybe, I was wrong, and then Kurosaki-kun would fall in love with me.

I knew it probably would never happen; he was blind to the world of women, except for when it came to Kuchiki-san. He saw her, but not me. And I knew that it was supposed to be that way.

I was a friend to Kurosaki-kun, nothing more. I knew that, and I had to accept it. No matter what any one else said, she was what he wanted.

Still, sometimes I got jealous, even angry, at Kuchiki-san. Why does he like her? I'm prettier! I'm more curvy! Everyone says that they would be lucky to have me! I don't hit him over the head or kick him or shout at him-ever! So why does he chose her? But in my heart I knew, know, that she is what he wants, even if he doesn't know it yet. The arguing, it's a part of who Kurosaki-kun is, and I know that he needs that. But when he speaks, sometimes I forget that and I just agree with him regardless. Other times I forget what he says and have to agree so it doesn't look like I was zoning out, even if I was.

Someday I might tell Kurosaki-kun how I feel, just so that he knows and I know he knows and so that I can get it all out of my system. I doubt I'll ever stop loving him, though. And I can't see myself with anyone else. I'll just grow old, and maybe find a cat or two that likes my cooking! No one seems to like my cooking but me. They try to be nice about it, but I can see that they think it's disgusting. Kurosaki-kun is really nice about it, too.

I love him, but I don't belong with him. Sometimes you can't win.

But I could be happy, knowing that he was happy. And who knows? Maybe that cat and I will really get along. And Kurosaki-kun and I will always be friends. That's enough for now.

That's enough forever. It has to be.

_A/N: So... It was a little short, but It's hard to write fanfic in first person, since the characters are already established, plus this was in Inoue's point of view, and I don't know, I guess I never really connected much with her character. But whatever, I wanted to try something new... and apparently really, _REALLY_ short. There's more on the way, but it might be delayed a couple days because I haven't officially finished anything yet and I'm going to be gone all day today (which is why I'm uploading this so early-sorry!) I'm going to try really, really hard to keep it up with the one a day thing as a challenge to myself. So maybe on the way to where I'm going I'll just write, write, write. If I'm inspired, haha._

_Review, please! Thank you to all of you who have reviewed and favorited! It means a lot to me! And it encourages me to write more. Or less. And I do try to take what you guys say into account (hence the attempt at de-sapping some). Let me know what you think!_

_Also, I'm sorry! I am a bad, bad person. I was supposed to reply to all of your reviews yesterday but got way too caught up in post-graduation stuff (aka thank you notes that had to be mailed out TODAY). I will do that either when I get back tonight or tomorrow. Sorry!_

**REVIEW! If you don't... well, we've all heard about Inoue's cooking... you don't really want to have to eat that, do you?**


	15. Parenting

_A/N: Takes place in future, Ichigo is in late 20's. Only God knows how old Rukia is at this point. Minor spoilers._

_Thanks for the 31 reviews! You guys are the best! Let's have a party! ...yay. :)  
><em>

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or the Wiggles. However, I would _LOVE_ to see characters from the Wiggles guest star on Bleach or visa versa. xD

PARENTING

Rukia stood in the kitchen, finally slumping down to the floor in exhaustion as she finished scrubbing the counter. Wiping her hair out of her eyes with the back of her wrist, she sighed. She hated housework. But without doing it... the house would be a pigsty for sure. Slowly, with another sigh, she stood up. _On to the living room,_ she thought wearily. As she left the room, she glanced at the clock. 2:13. _Only an hour left._

After sweeping the floors, dusting, and cleaning all the dirty socks, Rukia finally collapsed on the couch, not bothering to put the rag away. She closed her eyes for a moment, finally letting peace wash over her. She knew she only had a few minutes left, but a few minutes was all she needed. Somehow, the petite shinigami had learned to live off of only a few hours of sleep with a couple 5-minute naps throughout the day.

Just as her eyes were beginning to droop shut lazily, she heard the front door open. Feeling a mix of disappointment and happiness, Rukia sat up on the couch and looked towards the doorway expectantly.

"Mommy!" A small, black-haired boy ran out and all but tackled her to the couch.

Rukia laughed. "Hello, Kaien! How was your day at school?"

The five-year old looked at her with big, violet eyes. "Mrs. Kichida brought in a toad for the class to look at!" His face broke out in a smile. "I got to name him! I named him after Suki!"

Rukia smiled at him. "You should tell her that. Go on!" she urged, nudging the little boy off of her lap as she turned to see the door open yet again. The only thing she saw was a heap of bags somehow carried in one arm and a small, sleeping child in the other, a mess of orange hair at the top of it all.

"Rukia," Ichigo said quietly from behind the wall of groceries. "Can you take her for a minute?"

The petite shinigami stood up quickly and walked over, placing a hand on her two-year old daughter's back. "I dunno... will she wake up if I take her? I'll take the bags instead." She did so, quickly taking multiple bags from his arms and setting them gently on the floor. Once she could actually see his face again, Rukia leaned up and gave him a quick kiss.

Ichigo groaned as they broke apart. "Come back here," he scowled, leaning back in for a more in-depth, passionate kiss. Rukia wrapped her arms around his waist and he did the same to her with his free hand. When they pulled apart this time, Ichigo's eyes twinkled. "Tonight," he said, pecking her one last time. Even though it was all that he said, she knew what he meant.

"But Kaien's been having nightmares lately," she protested.

Ichigo just shrugged. "We'll let them have a sleep-over at Grandpa's."

"Are you sure you want to do that?"

"Better him than your brother. One night with Byakuya and we'd never get them to smile again." He stopped to ponder for a moment. "They look up to him too much for some reason. Of course, I guess I would too. It's a wonder how he survives with that stick up his-"

"Mommy! Daddy!" Kaien came running back into the room, followed by a large golden retriever. "Look at what I taught Suki!" He turned to the dog and lifted his hands over his head. "Jump, Suki!" However, instead of jumping, Suki laid down and looked up at the boy with confused eyes. Kaien squealed and turned to his parents, smiling broadly.

Ichigo chuckled. "But Kaien, she didn't jump. She laid down."

"I know! That's what's so great about it!" With that, Kaien started "teaching" Suki more tricks, most of which were just laying down at different words.

Ichigo scooted around Rukia, still holding his sleeping daughter. "I'm gonna put her in her bed," he told Rukia quietly. She nodded and moved back to Kaien, asking him if he was hungry for a snack.

"Yup!" Kaien said, smiling widely and leaving Suki to follow him as he ran to the kitchen table.

"Tell me more about your day," Rukia said as she began cutting up a banana the way that he liked it.

Kaien seemed to think for a moment. "Well... we read some... and we played some games at recess. Oh! I learned how to spell 'cat!'" He exclaimed excitedly.

"Ooh! How exciting! Do you want to show me?" When he nodded, Rukia stopped cutting the banana and grabbed a peice of paper and pencil. Kaien furrowed his brow in concentration and bit his tongue, which was poking slightly out of his cheek. The three messy letters were scattered across the page when he was done, but he sat back with yet another grin and held it up proudly for his mother to see.

"Wow! Great job, sweetie!" she said, taking it from his hands and moving to the fridge. "How about we put this right... here?" she asked, turning back to him to see his nod of approval. Once it was in place, she returned to his snack. "Who did you play with today at Recess?" she asked, finishing with the banana and starting spreading the peanut butter on a peice of bread.

"Hachiro." Rukia nodded in recognition of her son's friend. "He brought some action figures today. I accidently dropped one of them in the mud, but he said it was okay and wiped it off on his pants."

Ichigo came into the room, this time without a small heap on his shoulder. "That was nice of him," he said, adding to the conversation as he sat next to his son, who nodded.

"Uh-huh!"

Ichigo playfully ruffled his hair and turned to his wife. "Masaki is out. What's for dinner tonight?"

"You tell me," Rukia said, giving him a look that plainly said I've-been-cleaning-all-day-so-you-can-make-dinner-tonight. Ichigo rolled his eyes and mumbled something that sounded like "whatever."

Ichigo turned to his son. "How would you like to spend the night with Grandpa?" he asked.

"Really? Okay!"

Rukia put the bread with peanut butter and bananas in front of the excited boy, who was bobbing up and down in excitement. "You and Masaki. Maybe one of your cousins could come too!" she suggested.

Kaien's eyes got wider. "Really? Do you think that Akemi could come?"

"You'll have to call and ask Aunt Yuzu," Ichigo told him.

Leaving his forgotten snack behind, Kaien scrambled for the phone and gave it to his father. "Will you dial the number?"

Ichigo complied, smiling. Once he heard the ringing, he gave the phone back to the wide-eyed boy.

"Aunt Yuzu?" Kaien began, waiting a moment while Yuzu answered him. "This is Kaien. Can Akemi come with me and Masaki to Grandpa's house for the night?" Pause. Rukia could vaguely hear her say something on the other side of the phone. "Oh, boy! Thanks, Aunt Yuzu! ... Sure, he's right here." He turned to Ichigo. "Daddy, she wants to talk to you."

The orange-haired shinigami took the phone and held it to his ear. "Yo, Yuzu. What's up?"

_"Does Dad know about this yet?" _she asked on the other side of the phone.

"No, but do you really think he'll care? He's always complaining that we don't visit enough." Ichigo rolled his eyes. Yuzu was always so cautious.

"_Well, we should call before we dump three kids on him."_

Ichigo sighed. "Yeah, I will. I'll call now, okay?"

_"Okay, thanks Onii-chan. Talk to you later."_

"Aa. Bye, Yuzu." Ichigo hung up.

Two hours later, Rukia was strapping a bouncing Kaien into his car seat as Ichigo buckled a crying Masaki into hers. Finally, the two parents got into their respective seats and Rukia turned around to smile at her children.

"Are you ready to go?"

Kaien nearly screamed a "yes" as Masaki let out yet another loud sob while choking out "nooo!" Rukia sighed.

"Masaki, sweet heart, you'll have fun at Grandpa's house! We'll pick you up in the morning."

Kaien smiled at his sister and puffed out his chest, jabbing a thumb at himself. "I'll protect you, Masaki!" he assured her, and Ichigo smiled. He had inheirited his father's need to protect those he loved. Ichigo only hoped that he wouldn't need to save anyone from death row in Soul Society any time soon. Masaki, in the meantime, quieted down and smiled at her brother.

"Okay. We go now," she told her parents, smiling through her tears. "I all happy now."

Rukia chuckled as Ichigo pulled out of their driveway.

Turning on the radio, Ichigo thought about how much their lives had changed in the past five years. When the doctor told them they had a healthy baby boy, he was sure it was the happiest moment of his life... until he held him in his arms. Rukia had wanted to name him Kaien, and Ichigo agreed, deeming it appropriate, especially since he looked so much like Ichigo but with black hair... which was basically what the original Kaien looked like. He was always happy, even when he was a baby and toddler. He made friends easily and was friendly to everyone he met. Ichigo was so happy that he had come into his life that March day five years ago.

Three years later, Rukia had given birth to Masaki, who also had black hair, but she had inheirited her father's eyes. She was a quiet child, but she loved to smile. She was just now starting to complete sentences and she was desperately learning to tie her shoes, but usually it just ended in a mess of laces as one of her parents bent down and helped her. She was extremely smart for her age, but she was also almost unbelieveably attatched to her parents and refused to leave them for more than a few hours at a time (unless her brother was there). She also was very attached to her brother and loved hugging him more than any stuffed animal she had, and she had a _lot_. Kaien didn't mind; he loved her just as much.

From the time Kaien was born, their whole lives had changed: no more passionate nights, no more eating out, no more real music in the car, no more shinigami work (for the time being, that is. They were on temporary lay-away.) It was al worth it, though. The new things that had crept up into his life were just as great, if not better, than those things: the smiles they got, little arms holding them close, little socks in the dryer, tucking them in for the night only to have them crawl into their bed a mere hour later... Heck, even the music had grown on Ichigo.

Now he nodded his head back and forth as he sang along with Kaien and the Wiggles to "Fruit Salad." _This song, for instance, was catchy,_ he thought to himself and smiled as he looked in the rearview mirror at his son. That was another thing; Ichigo smiled more than ever before, maybe even before his mom died. He was truely happy.

They pulled up to Isshin's house and said man ran out of the door to the car. "KAIEN! MASAKI! MY DARLING GRANDCHILDREN!" He flung the car door open and grabbed each of them out of their car seats and snuggled them closer. "Welcome to my house! We are going to have so much fun tonight while your mommy and daddy make me another grandchild!"

Ichigo waited for his kids to look away to kick him in the shin.

As they said their goodbyes, Masaki started crying again. Ichigo took her in his arms and brushed her tears away. "Masaki, don't cry! Grandpa Isshin is gonna watch over you and have lots and lots of fun with you! Your brother, too. Mommy and I will be back soon, okay?" He kissed her forehead. "I love you, pumpkin."

Masaki giggled at her pet name. "Bye, bye, Daddy!" She flung her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly. She smiled at him, but soon later tears started again as she realized that _Mommy _was leaving, too.

Ichigo turned to his father as Rukia comforted the small child. "Don't you dare teach them anything perverted," he warned.

"WHAT? Me? Why would I do anything like that?" Isshin asked, acting offended with a mischevious glint in his eye.

The orange-haired man was going to argue with his father some more and perhaps _show_ him what would happen if he did, but Rukia grabbed his hand. "Ready to go?" she asked, her indigo eyes looking up at him with a smile.

"Yeah. Remember what I said, Dad," Ichigo warned again before turning to his children. "Bye, guys! I love you both!"

"Bye Daddy! Bye Mommy!" Kaien yelled, already running into the house to start eating the macaroni and cheese Isshin already had made.

Isshin was holding Masaki as she waved her hand half-heartedly, tears streaming down her face again. "B-b-bye bye, D-daddy and M-mommy! I-I-I wuv you!"

"I love you, too, Masaki!" Rukia called as she got into the car. "Be good! I'll see you tomorrow morning, okay?"

The toddler let loose another wave of wails as she nodded and her parents slowly pulled out of the drive way. For a while, the two sat in silence, but then Rukia spoke.

"Go ahead, I know you want to," she said, sighing.

Ichigo grinned and turned on the radio again. "Fruit salad, yummy, yummy," he sang along, putting an arm around Rukia's shoulders. She smiled back at him and joined in.

Yeah. Things had sure changed.

_A/N: Yay! I got another post in! Sorry for not updating yesterday; I was feeling very uninspired and couldn't find anything to write about. Well, I had an idea, but when I sat down to write it, nothing came out. Haha. Anyway, I hope you liked it! Sorry for reusing names, but honestly, I can't really imagine Ichigo and Rukia's kids with any other names, haha._

_Thanks to _**UraharafanXDXDXD **_for the request! I love taking them; it gives me ideas and a reason to write!_

_Again, I know I'm a horrible person for not getting to your reviews when I said I would... and still not doing it. I really, really do appreciate them, I just suck at showing it. Sorry! I _WILL _get to them eventually... If I ever stop working or being lazy. One of the two. :)_

_I'm thinking about starting another story soon. Let me know if it's a yes for you or a HELL NO and, as always,_

**REVIEW! Even if all you say is "Fruit salad, yummy, yummy." ...What? It's catchy!**


	16. Elevator Emergencies

_A/N: Time period: sometime after SSA, doesn't matter. No spoilers. Enjoy! (I hope...)_

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach. But if wishes DO come true, I will own it... someday...

ELEVATOR EMERGENCIES

Grumbling, Rukia walked out of the huge, fancy ballroom that the thirteen protection squads were having a last-minute meeting in while they were in the Real World. Of _course_ Ichigo would have them kicked out. Of _course_ he had to blab his loud mouth on and on. Of _course_ he had to call Yamamoto "Gramps" in his presense. Of _course _her brother had to be there to see it all. Rukia shot yet another glare at the man walking beside her.

"Don't look at me like that! It was a horrible idea!" Ichigo said defensively. "No one realizes that the people in the Real World aren't _nearly_ as unobservant as they think they are!"

Rukia sighed. "_I_ know that, Ichigo. _You_ know that. But they don't."

"That's why I was trying to tell them! We can't just carry our zanpakutos into the subway station on gigais! They have security!"

"I _know,_ Ichigo. But you didn't have to yell so loud... or use the phrasing you did." Rukia cringed at the memory of Ichigo calling almost every captian "stupid" and using a few... choice words while describing the idiocrisy of the plan.

"Sorry," Ichigo mumbled, leaning forward to push the small elevator button in front of them.

Pinching her nose in a frustrated way, Rukia replied, "It's okay. Just... don't ever do it again. Ever." They both walked into the elevator and she pushed the lobby button.

"Still," Ichigo started, a grin appearing slyly on his face. "It was funny... seeing all of their faces."

Rukia allowed a small smile to grace her face. "Yeah, I suppose so. Yamamoto... I thought he might have a stroke."

"Gramps is definitely old enough," Ichigo said, chuckling. His girlfriend playfully slapped him on the arm.

Suddenly, the elevator lurched to a stop, causing Ichigo to fly into Rukia and knock them both to the floor, the orange-haired shinigami hovering over her. "Er... sorry," Ichigo said shyly, slowly starting to get up.

However, Rukia grabbed his collar and brought him back down on top of her. "I have a feeling this is going to take a while," she said, smiling sensually.

Ichigo's eyes widened before he grinned and leaned in, closing the distance between the two. Their lips met in heated passion, Rukia tied her hands in his hair roughly and Ichigo grabbed her waist, pulling her slightly upwards as he stood up. Once he was standing upright, she jumped onto him, wrapping her legs around his middle and pressing her body closer to him. She moaned as they broke for much-needed air as Ichigo trailed white-hot kisses down her neckline to her exposed collarbone. Rukia held his head there as he began tickling her with his tongue. When he took a break for air, she took over, kissing his ear flirtatiously and running her tongue along the side of his jaw. He shivered underneath her touch and Rukia turned her head, pressing her lips to his again.

Ichigo rammed them against the wall of the elevator, moving his hands from her waist to the backs of her thighs, pushing back her dress slightly. She moaned again and broke apart from him again, this time unbuttoning his shirt quickly as he rested his forehead to hers, breathing heavily. When she had worked through all of the buttons, she ripped his shirt off and gripped his biceps firmly. He pushed his lips to hers yet again, forcing his tongue through her slightly parted lips to caress the inside of her mouth. She tasted good to him, sweet and sugary. She returned his caresses with that of her own as his hands inched further up her thighs.

While furiously making out, the two didn't notice as the elevator began to move again. The doors opened when it reached the lobby, and several people's mouths dropped at the sight.

"Yari, yari! This is better than I ever expected when I pushed the "emergency stop" button," Urahara said with a smile.

Isshin, standing next to him, grinned in return. "Good work, friend." He patted his accomplice on the back as he watched his son and third daughter continue to kiss passionately, completely oblivious to the outside world. As Rukia leaned back and started to unbuckle Ichigo's belt, however, Urahara cleared his throat.

The two lovers lept back from each other, breathing more heavily than before, if that was possible. Both turned bright red and Ichigo grabbed his shirt and covered himself with it. Isshin stepped out from the crowd, fake tears streaming down his cheeks.

"ICHIGOOOO! I'm so proud of you! YOU ARE A MAN NOW! Masaki! Are you seeing this? Our son isn't gay after all!" The crazed father ran to Rukia and grabbed her hand, bowing before her. "Thank you, Rukia, for teaching my delinquent son the ways of love-making."

Ichigo, with his shirt now in place, sent a kick flying into Isshin's stomach. "Pervert!" he yelled. Then, grabbing Rukia's hand, he lead them out of the elevator and through the crowd, avoiding any looks from the people standing there. In silence, he started his car in the parking lot and drove to the apartment they shared. Closing the door behind him, he smiled slyly.

"Now... where were we?"

_A/N: xD I hope you like it! That's really all I've got to say..._

_Except of course, thanks to my reviewers and those who have added me to their favorites/alerts! I love you all!_

**REVIEW! Or we'll find a way for Isshin to become your legal guardian... xD**


	17. Moving In

_A/N: Continuation of "Blessings" and "The Proposal." I really should find a name for this mini-series. Any ideas? No spoilers._

Disclaimer: I do own Bleach! Okay, so maybe not... Sadface.

MOVING IN

"Well? What do you think?" Ichigo asked the small group that had come with him to go apartment hunting for after the wedding.

Rukia smiled. "I like it. I could see myself living here." Ichigo grinned back at her, slipping an arm around her waist.

Byakuya said emotionlessly, "It's not appropriate."

Taking a glance around the empty room, Rukia frowned. "What do you mean, Nii-sama? What's wrong with it?"

Ichigo, however, scowled and said, "You've said that about every single one so far!"

"It is not appropriate for the two of you. It doesn't have a training area and it has an extra room. Why would you like this one?"

"Nii-sama, we might want a guest sometime. Plus, we don't know how long we'll be living here or when we'll have kids. As far as training, we can always go to Urahara's. It's only two blocks away," Rukia tried reasoning with him.

As Ichigo fidgeted uneasily, Byakuya said, "You will not have kids for at least two years." He ignored the guest comment.

Isshin stepped in, unfortunately for Rukia and Ichigo. "Oh, dear, Byakuya! You know these two! They'll probably be making grandchildren left and right!" Tears began to well up in the soon-to-be grandfather's eyes. "Masaki... grandchildren! Our wish is finally... coming... true!" With that, he collapsed on the floor, sobbing openly as Byakuya stepped around him, his eyes icy.

"No children for two years. It was part of the agreement Kurosaki and I made when he asked for Rukia's hand."

"Technically, I never agreed to that part. Plus, I never asked for permission, and you can't take your blessing back."

Byakuya's eyes narrowed slightly. "Kurosaki... no children."

"Anyways, heh, heh, Kuchiki-sama, I'd like to say something about the kitchen," Yuzu spoke up nervously, having just come back from the place she was always most concered with. "The oven's good, but you'd need a new refridgerator, and the counters leave a bit to be desired. But I like the sink; it's pretty big. A dishwasher is always a plus, so that leaves... 3 pros and 2 cons for me. I say go for it!" Yuzu finished, smiling brightly at the couple.

Karin rolled her eyes. "Whatever. Let's just get done with this quickly. I wanna get out of here soon."

Ichigo looked at his black-haired sister. "What do you think, though?"

Trying to smile as brightly as Yuzu had, Karin said, "It's great! Go ahead and buy it! The hardwood floors are grea- yeah, I can't do this anymore. Do whatever the hell you want. I don't care," she ended flatly.

"Isshin, you have yet to give us your opinion," Rukia pointed out. "What do you think?"

Isshin, stopping sobbing suddenly, looked up from his place on the ground and gave the two a big smile. "I like it! No, in fact, I LOVE IT! I can see you having lots of grandchildren here... on the couch, in your bedroom, on the kitchen floo-"

"PERVERT!" Ichigo and Karin yelled at the same time, both aiming a kick at his head, successfully knocking him out.

Rukia, not knowing what else to say to _that_, turned back to her brother. "Is the room situation the only issue you have, Nii-sama?"

Byakuya nodded. "The rest of the appartment is sufficient. You will need some servants, though. Can you find some around here?"

Ignoring Ichigo's protests of "we don't need any damn servants, you snobby bastard," Rukia shook her head slighly. "We can get along just fine, Nii-sama. Servants will not be necessary."

Giving Ichigo an icy glare, Byakuya nodded again. "If you believe that to be true, I will allow it."

"What about you, Ishida? Orihime?"

The Quincy pushed up his glasses. "Compared to our first apartment, this is fairly nice."

"'Fairly nice?' Are you kidding, Uyuru?" Inoue squealed, running to a big bay window and throwing open the curtains. "It's beautiful! The view, the floors, the walls, the... everything! I think it's a definite 'yes.' I'm just so excited for you two!"

Ichigo smiled at her. "Thanks, Inoue." He turned to his future wife. "I love it, too. Is this the one?"

Finally, they all turned to the slightly disturbed (mostly because of Isshin's continued sobs) Real Estate agent. "We'll take it," Rukia said, grinning.

"Great," the woman said. "I'll just need you to sign a few papers and then it'll all be ready for you to move in!"

"That's all the boxes," Ichigo said, plopping next to his fiance on the newly purchased couch. It still had plastic over it and it crinkled as he sat down. "They're all in the apartment now."

"Whew. Finally," Rukia replied, scooting in a little closer to him and wrapping her arms around him. He did the same to her and kissed her hair.

"We can unpack tomorrow," Ichigo said. Rukia just nodded.

"Are you happy with your purchase, Kurosaki Ichigo?" she mocked.

He just chuckled into her hair. She could feel his hot breath and shivered. "Yeah, I am," he said, squeezing her a little tighter. "Are you?"

"Yes," she said, not neccessarily talking about the apartment anymore. She snuggled in a little closer to Ichigo and laid her head on his shoulder. They stayed like that, eyes closed, resting. Opening her eyes slightly, Rukia turned to look at him.

"Ichigo."

"Mmm?" he replied sleepily, petting her hair softly.

"When... when are we going to tell Nii-sama about the baby?"

Ichigo sat up and sighed, looking down at her. "When do you want to?"

Rukia turned to look at her slightly bulging stomach. "Well... I'm starting to show a bit. I don't think we can hide it from him-or anyone else, for that matter-for that much longer."

"Don't worry; they'll all just think you're getting fat," Ichigo teased. Rukia returned this with a quick elbow in the gut.

"Let's tell them. Soon. Okay?" Her eyes wandered to his and searched them.

Ichigo smiled. "Okay." He kissed her temple softly before adding, "Soon."

Then, the stress of the day overcoming them, they fell asleep on the couch.

_A/N: It's shorter than any other in this series within a series, but I didn't want to add a bunch of filler and make it worse, so I just ended it there. I hope you liked it! Hopefully I'll get the next one out sooner rather than later, because I've become quite fond of these little one-shots of this series. :)_

_I wanted to know, so let's take a poll! Who would you want to tell about Rukia's pregnancy least?_

_**A)**__ Byakuya_

_**B) **__Isshin_

_**C)**__ Urahara_

_**D)**__ (Insert Bleach character here)_

_I'll post the results next chapter of the series within the series! Thanks to the reviewers, favorite...rs, and alerters thus far! I love you all!_

**REVIEW! Please? I'll sob like Isshin if you don't... :,(**


	18. Air Conditioning

_A/N: Takes place in Substitute Arc. No spoilers (unless you haven't read/seen the first manga/episode, in which case, WHY ARE YOU READING THIS?)_

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach. Once I had a dream that I did! I woke up all excited... and then felt depressed when I remembered that I am not, in fact, Kubo Tite.

AIR CONDITIONING

Isshin grinned at all three of his children. "Remember, kids! Tomorrow I'll be working on the 'air conditioning,' so if you're hiding anything in your room, I might 'accidentally' find it!"

They all rolled their eyes and Ichigo said, "Dad, we all stopped hiding things in our rooms a long time ago. With you as a dad, we have to keep things in more secret places."

Disappointed by their reaction (and losing hope that he'd find anything worth while), Isshin pouted. "You guys don't let Daddy have any fun any more!"

"Whatever, Dad," Ichigo said, grabbing an extra plate to take up to Rukia.

Karin pushed her plate back and stood up. "I gotta go. The boys and I are gonna practice for a while."

Yuzu also stood. "I'll clean up. You should go to bed, Dad. You'll need your energy when you try to find embarrassing stuff in our rooms tomorrow."

Isshin just slumped in his chair and grumbled. "Just you wait, children. Daddy _always_ finds _something._"

"Oi, Rukia," Ichigo said to the closet door, which immediately slid open as the midget took the plate of food gratefully. Ichigo went to his desk and sat down to do his homework. "Oh, yeah, and tomorrow you can't be in here. At least not during the day, okay?"

Rukia, with her mouth full, said, "Why?"

"Dad's gonna be looking through all of our rooms, basically. So you need to make sure that all of your stuff is either hidden or put where it could be mine," Ichigo explained, his tone suggesting that it was a common thing to have their rooms searched in this household, which, Rukia decided, was highly likely.

"Otay, fine. I'lf difappear fow da day."

"Good. Now shut up so I can do my homework."

Isshin was feeling disappointed yet again. He had been through the girls' room and searched it ceiling to floor and had only found one embarrassing note of Yuzu's telling that she liked some boy in her class. Normally, that would be the jackpot, except the note was from two years ago and since then Isshin knew for a fact that Yuzu had moved on. Wearily, he moved to Ichigo's room and half-heartedly flipped through all of his books in his bookshelf. Nothing. He searched under his bed, between the mattresses, underneath the lamps, even in the underside of his desk but found nothing. Ichigo had figured out where _not_ to hide his things. _I have taught him well,_ Isshin thought to himself, half proud, half bummed out.

Finally, after searching in every other available space, Isshin took a crowbar and opened up some of the floorboards. There was nothing at first... until he got about half-way through. Underneath one floor board, he hit the jackpot.

Pulling out a Chappy plushie, a romance manga, and a tube of lipstick, Isshin was already quite happy. _Ichigo is going to be so surprised I found his secret stash! I had no idea... what is my son into?_ he wondered, looking especially long at the lipstick. When he glanced down to make sure he didn't miss anything, his eyes caught on a small, leather-bound book that was half-hidden in the darkness.

Greedily, Isshin brought it out and opened to the front page. Hearts bordered the page and a name to the lower-left corner. Isshin had to squint to see it: _Kuchiki Rukia._ Grinning widely, the insane father flipped to the next page. On it, the first thing he saw was a sketch (_I had no idea Ichigo sucked so much at drawing,_ he thought) of a orange-haired bear holding hands with a black-haired emo-looking bunny. Raising an eyebrow, Isshin flipped the page again and grinned when he saw a diary entry.

_"Dear Diary,_

_Today at school Ichigo showed me how to use a juice box. I hate those things! They are way too complicated. I mean, who in their right mind would make something that difficult to use-"_

Isshin skimmed ahead, seeing that at least 2 more paragraphs were about the "evil juice boxes." He read on.

_"But Ichigo taught me how to use them, and it was really quite nice of him. He can actually be a gentleman when he's not being such an idiot. But for some reason, when he reached around me to grab the box, and then his other arm to grab the 'straw,' my stomach did a weird thing. It felt like I was shunpo-ing really fast down a hill or something. It seemed to flip._

_I've noticed before how handsome Ichigo is, but I never cared before. I'm here for a mission, and a mission only. I have to get my powers back and then I'm leaving. But since it's been taking so long, I think I've gotten too comfortable in this gigai and some human traits are starting to come through. I think I've actually grown... attracted... to Ichigo. I've become accustomed to our fighting and can see through it sometimes. Sometimes it's just him being an idiot, but sometimes there's concern there or even, dare I say? Flirting. Anyway, I could just be crazy and this whole thing could be over tomorrow. I just wanted to write it down to get it out of my system._

_Write to you soon,_

_Kuchiki Rukia 3"_

Isshin, tears beginning to well up in his eyes, turned the page. There he found another drawing, but this one was even more puzzling. It was of the same orange haired bear, but he had x's for eyes and was laying on the ground with the black haired bunny standing on top of him grinning.

_"Dear Diary,_

_Ichigo is driving me INSANE! Forget all about last entry. Today he made me so angry I wanted to strangle him. Or, better yet, run my zanpakuto through his chest for the _second_ time. If I still had any powers, I might do just that._

_Anyway, it happened while we were at school. First, he had been avoiding me all day. I kept trying to get his attention because I wanted to see if what I mentioned yesterday was accurate or if it was just a glitch with my gigai. Well, when I _finally_ caught up to him, I grabbed his arm and said, "Ichigo!" But all he did was shrug me off and say, "Go away, midget." GO AWAY MIDGET! That bastard. He knows I hate that name. Well, naturally, I kicked his shin and yelled at me for calling me such a name. He yelled back, and I thought everything was normal, until Keigo came up to us. Keigo is a pervert, so what he said didn't bother me, but Ichigo got all red and started yelling at him, then he yelled at me, then he yelled at everyone that was looking at him because he was yelling, and then he yelled at Keigo some more. Most of it was stupid, harmless stuff, but then he said something that really... I dunno. It hurt. With all my training from Nii-sama, I was able to keep a straight face, but inside I just really wanted to... I don't know what I wanted to do. But this is what he said: "I don't like Kuchiki Rukia at all in any way more than friends, never have and never will! She's short, annoying, and her drawings suck! Who could be attracted to that?" When he said the last sentence, he pointed at me._

_I didn't talk to him for the rest of the day._

_Kuchiki Rukia 3"_

The next drawing was of the orange haired bear and the black haired bunny again, this time they were smushed up against each other... were they kissing?"

_"Dear Diary,_

_Ichigo apologized to me today. He explained that there were a lot of rumors going on about us 'dating' or whatever. He kinda mumbled out the last part and got all red, so I assume that's what he meant. He told me that he didn't really think that way about me and told me that I was actually very (mumble mumble, which I interpreted as) pretty. Even though I wanted to hug him forever, I only gave him a small smile (thanks to Kuchiki manners) and told him that it was all right and thank you._

_So I think it's a pretty safe bet that I do have an attraction to him. The girls at school call it a 'crush' which I don't understand. Who are you crushing? Is there a battle or something? What-"_

Again, Isshin skimmed ahead since there was quite a bit of the questioning of what "crush" actually meant. After her signature, he found a small heart with the initials "K.I." in them. Isshin grinned. _My little boy has a girlfriend! Well, sort of, anyway._

_"Dear Diary,_

_I think I love Ichigo now. I can't explain it, but I think I do._

_Love,_

_Kuchiki Rukia 3"_

The date of the last entry was the day before. Isshin grinned. _So, Ichigo must like this girl too, or he wouldn't have stolen her diary... among other things. I'm still confused about the lipstick, though._

Standing up, Isshin grinned again and pocketed the small book.

"Ichigo!"

"Mm?"

"Ichigo!"

"What, midget?"

Rukia kicked his shin. "My stuff is gone!"

"What stuff?" Ichigo asked, gripping his hurt shin in one hand.

Rukia turned slightly pink and mumbled, "My stuff that I hid in your room."

"WHAT? You hid stuff in my room? How stupid are you?" Ichigo yelled.

"Hey! It was a good place!"

"Where?"

"Under the floor boards!"

Ichigo groaned. "Dad has known about that hiding spot since I was ten. What did you put in there?"

Rukia, beet red by now, looked down at her shoes sheepishly. "A Chappy Plushie, a manga, and lipstick."

"Lipstick?" Ichigo growled. "D'you know what that'll _look_ like?"

"That's not all," Rukia said, refusing to look him in the eye. "I also... kept my diary in there."

"WHAT?"

Around the dinner table that night, Isshin grinned at his children. "Well, daughters, you have learned well. I could not find anything worthwhile in your rooms while I worked on the 'air conditioning.' Ichigo, however..." Said shinigami groaned. "Even though he is older, he is not wiser." Isshin brought out the small notebook with a bigger grin on his face. "When did you start stealing diaries, m'boy?"

"Wha-I-How- I DON'T STEAL DIARIES!" Ichigo stuttered, his face turning red.

"Then why was this under your floorboards?"

Ichigo had no answer. He knew that he couldn't tell the _truth_, or he'd have an even more perverted reaction from his father. He settled for a cliche lie. "My friend Rukia asked me to hold it for her for a couple days. I guess I forgot about it, okay?"

"Ichigo, you're a horrible liar," Karin deadpanned.

Isshin grinned at his son. "Don't be shy, son! Let's all read it as a form of family bonding!"

"Wha-! NO! You can't READ it!" Ichigo screamed. _This isn't happening, this isn't happening, this isn't happening,_ he thought.

Frowning, his father said, "Ichigo, you can't hog it all to yourself!"

"I would never read that!" he protested, making an 'X' with his arms.

"Then, my son, why did you steal it?" Again, Ichigo had no answer.

Isshin opened the book. "Dear Diary," he quoted. "Today Ichigo taught me how to use a juice box.' Then there's a whole bunch about how much the girl hates juice boxes. 'But Ichigo taught me how to use them, and it was really quite nice of him. He can actually be a gentleman when-'"

"STOP RIGHT THERE!" Ichigo yelled, grabbing the book from his father. "If you'll excuse me, I have to go return this to the girl I, erm, took it from."

"But Ichigoooo! You didn't let me get to the good part!" Isshin whined.

"GOOD!" he yelled, standing up from the table and stomping upstairs to his room.

"Onii-chan! Why are you going to your room?" Yuzu called after him.

_Oh, crap. I forgot that the girl isn't supposed to _live_ with me... in my closet! _"To get shoes!" he yelled back to them.

The family all turned and looked at his shoes laying by the front door.

"Oi, Midget."

The closet door slid open slightly and Rukia glared out at him. "Did you read it?" she asked, her face turning slightly red.

Ichigo rolled his eyes. "No, of course not." He decided not to tell her that his father had.

She snatched it from his grasp. "Better not have," she muttered, turning back to her closet and slamming it closed.

"Hey! It wasn't my fault! ...Bitch," he added for good measure.

The door slid open again long enough for her to hit him with a pillow and slam it shut again. With a sigh, Ichigo turned and left the house so he could "return the diary to its owner."

_Knock, knock._

"Come in," Ichigo called from inside his room.

Isshin walked inside and sat down on the other side of his son's bed. "Ichigo, I need to talk to you about something."

The substitute shinigami grunted in reply.

"Ichigo, when I heard that I was going to have a son, my whole world lit up. I could imagine bonding with you. Playing catch together, talking about girls and sex together, looking up girls' skirts together..." Ichigo punched his jaw. "Anyway, these things were my wish, but I want you to know that no matter who you choose to be, I still love you."

"Wha-?"

Isshin patted his son on the back. "Shh... I know. I found the lipstick in your room. I've always wondered, but now I know. Who is it?"

For a moment, Ichigo thought his father knew that he had a girl living in his closet. A girl that was currently watching from the crack between the door and the wall trying not to laugh.

"Is it Chad? Or Keigo? Who do you have... feelings for?" Isshin asked somberly, still patting his son on the back.

"WHAT?"

"It's okay, son. You can tell me."

"YOU GOAT-FACE! I'M NOT GAY!"

_A/N: Heh. I hope you like it! I'm not sure if I do or not. I like some some of it, but not all. :) Anyway, let me know what you think and review!_

_Thanks to my reviewers thus far! 46 reviews! WOOT, WOOT! Can we make it 50 by the next update...? *Hopeful smile*_

**REVIEW! Have a diary? Want it read? By Isshin? Didn't think so.**


	19. Sleeping Troubles

_A/N: Set to Substitute Arc. No spoilers. Enjoy! :D_

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach. Sad, but true.

SLEEPING TROUBLES

"RUKIA! OPEN THE DOOR NOW!"

Silence.

"Rukia, I'm warning you! Open the door _NOW!"_

Still no answer. Ichigo took a deep breath, trying to calm himself.

"Rukia, I'm giving you ten seconds. Then I swear I'll kick the door in."

...

"One... two... three... four... five... six... seven... eight... nine... DAMMIT RUKIA, I'M NOT KIDDING!"

Just then the door swung open and revealed a fuming Rukia, hair wet and dripping onto Yuzu's plaid pajamas. "Ichigo. Can't you be patient? It's called changing. I just took a shower. I was _naked._"

Ichigo turned bright red and scratched the back of his neck awkwardly. "Right. Sorry."

Rukia rolled her eyes and opened the door wider. "All right. You can get your precious whatever it is now."

"It's called a pillow, Midget. Just be glad I'm giving you my bed tonight. I don't particularly enjoy the thought of sleeping on the couch."

"Yeah, yeah, just hurry up. I wanna be alone." Rukia stepped aside as Ichigo went into his room. "And just for the record, I _told_ you that I'd be fine sleeping on the couch. I just wanted a change in location for a night." 

"You know why we can't do that," Ichigo said, carrying his pillow as he walked back out the door. "I don't know what time exactly Dad will get home tomorrow, let alone the girls. Imagine if they found a strange girl sleeping on the couch. My dad. Sleeping girl. _Strange_ sleeping girl. Not goo-OW! What the hell was that for?"

Rukia stuck her nose in the air. "I'm not strange, I'm a normal girl... besides being dead and having a fake body."

Sighing, Ichigo replied, "That's not what I meant. They don't know who you are. Like a _stranger_, not strange like weird. Jeez, Rukia."

"Oh. Well, I haven't been in the living world very much, okay?"

"Whatever. I'm going to bed, er, the couch." Ichigo gestured downstairs. "I'll see you tomorrow morning, okay? Good night, Rukia."

"Night, idiot."

"Bitch."

"Imbecile."

"Midget."

"Pipsqueak."

"Grandma."

"Strawberry."

"Fool."

"Freak."

"Ooh, that hurts," Ichigo mocked, putting a hand to his chest as if he were clutching his heart. With that, he turned and walked down the stairs.

"HA! I win!" Rukia said, smiling triumphantly.

Ichigo just waved over his shoulder. "If you say so... moron," he mumbled under his breath.

Rukia ignored him and turned to the empty room behind her. She had the whole upstairs to herself tonight since Ichigo's father was on a medical conference and Yuzu and Karin had opted to spend the night at friend's houses, aparently not trusting Ichigo to babysit them. She couldn't blame them; he was an incompetent fool. And besides, she was happy to be able to sleep in an actual bed tonight instead of in a cramped closet. Don't get her wrong, she loved her closet, but she wanted a change in pace for once.

Happily, she shut the door behind her as she walked in. She could take as long as she wanted getting ready. She could stay up as late as she wanted. She could do whatever she wanted. The possibilities were limitless, and she was excited.

The first thing she did was flop onto the bed, which proved to be so much fun that she continued to do it time and time again. Soon, she simply stood on the bed and began jumping. Giggling like a little girl, Rukia fell down bouncing a few more times before coming to a complete stop. Her eyes caught on a book of some sort. Curious, she picked it up and took it to the bed with her. She opened it and immediately burst out in laughter. It was a photo album. Of Ichigo. As a baby.

She flicked through the multiple baby pictures of him. In the tub, in his crib, in his parent's arms, on a tricycle. The tub pictures were the best; Ichigo was bare to the camera, all of his glory showing for the world to see, grinning like the idiot he was. Rukia giggled again. She was becoming giddy, or maybe she was just slap-happy. Either way, she was giggling more than she had ever before.

Once she was done with the photo album, she walked around the room, wondering what to do next. She decided on drawing. But after a few pictures depicting the death of Ichigo (which she kindly left on his desk for him to find), she began to feel restless and bored. Downstairs she could hear the television. She was tempted, iching, even, to go down and join him at the t.v. She didn't want to give him that honor, though.

For another half an hour, she laid on Ichigo's bed, bored out of her mind, but forceful that she would not go downstairs. She had been looking forward to this night, and she wasn't going to waste it on spending time with that idiot. But after being bored for so long, and a quick glace at the clock telling her that it was only 9:45, she finally gave in.

Ichigo smirked as she walked in. "I knew you wouldn't be able to resist me," he said, mocking her yet again.

"Idiot," she shot back, glaring. "I only came down to make sure that you weren't missing me."

"Whatever." He turned back to the t.v. where there seemed to be a car chase going on. They watched in silence for a good while before Rukia suddenly felt imensly tired. Stifling a yawn, she stood.

"I'm gonna go to bed," she informed him.

Without so much as a word, Ichigo took two fingers to his forehead and did a sort of salute before turning back to his (in Rukia's opinion) very boring movie.

Rukia went upstairs and laid in the bed. She was exhausted, but she couldn't sleep. She tossed and turned, fidgeting around trying to get comfortable. She kept looking at the clock. 11:00, 12:00, finally 1:00 came around and she sighed, slamming her hands down flat on the bed before getting up and quietly walking down the stairs.

She was greeted by the sight of Ichigo sprawled out on the couch, his legs hanging off and one arm covering his eyes, the other limply hanging to his side. He was snoring slightly and the blanket he was supposed to be using had been kicked down to his shins, barely serving any purpose now. Chuckling slightly, Rukia grabbed the blanket and pulled it up to his chest before grabbing a blanket for herself and curling up on the chair, quickly falling asleep to the lullaby of his quiet snores.

Ichigo woke up with a start, not exactly knowing why. Vaguely, he heard his father yelling something from outside.

"ICHIGOO! I'M HOMEE! If you have any naked girls in the house, now is the time to HIDDEEEE THEEEEMMMM!"

Ichigo rolled his eyes before they settled on a curled up Rukia, her mouth hanging slightly open. He smiled softly before he felt his stomach plummet. _Shit! Why is she downstairs?_ He quickly grabbed her as he heard the door blast open and ran up to his room before his crazy father set eyes on the petite girl.

Heart pounding and eyes wide awake now, Ichigo silently shut the door behind him and leaned up against it, feeling relief wash over him. He let out the breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding until now. Standing up, he brought Rukia to her closet and slid the door open. As he laid her inside, her eyes fluttered open.

"Ichigo...?" she asked tiredly.

"Moron. You couldn't have woken up two minutes ago, could you?" Ichigo scowled down at her.

She leaned up on her elbows and smiled slightly. "Sorry, I couldn't sleep last night." She itched her head, making it even messier than it had been before. She looked adorable, a thought Ichigo shoved to the back of his mind as he resisted the urge to chuckle and instead glowered more feriously.

"Well, you almost blew our cover. Dad just got home and I had to carry you upstairs!"

"Sorry! I thought I'd wake up before you, but I guess the exhaustion just... overpowered me." Rukia's eyes became heavy again and her eyelids began to droop.

Ichigo allowed a small smile to grace his features. "Well, go back to sleep, okay? I'll bring you up breakfast when it's ready."

Nodding sleepily, she laid her head back down on the pillow and quickly fell back asleep, but not before mumbling, "Thanks, Ichi."

Said shinigami raised an eyebrow at his new nickname but otherwise ignored it and went back downstairs.

"ICHIGO!" Isshin flew around the corner and greeted his son with a kick that Ichigo promptly returned, knocking his father over. He began mumbling something about having nothing more to teach.

The orange-haired shinigami walked into the kitchen and grabbed a glass, filled it up with milk, and began to drink it. Isshin came into the room, still rubbing his stomach where Ichigo had hit him. "So... Any wild parties last night?"

"Nope."

"Any make out sessions with any girls?"

"Nope."

"...Guys?"

"NO! Pervert," Ichigo added for good measure.

"So no one was over, then?"

"Nope."

Isshin moved to the corner, appearing to be thinking hard. "Hmm... that's strange."

"Hn?"

"Well, when I got home, I had to make a quick potty break. I just noticed something odd."

Ichigo's stomach dropped. He had forgotten that Rukia took a shower. "What?" he asked warily.

"Well, my son, unless you have something you need to tell me, you had a girl that likes to wear Chappy panties and dresses over last night who happened to forget her clothes here."

_Oh, shit._ Ichigo was going to kill Rukia. _KILL_ her.

_A/N: Hee, hee! xD I hope you liked it! Just in case you're interested, the past two stories came to me because of the lovely book titled, "The Writer's Book Of Matches." It's a book of prompts. It really, REALLY helps with writer's block, I think. I recommend it to anyone who needs somethig to get them started. :)_

_I think my favorite part of this chapter is the back-and-forth name-calling between Ichigo and Rukia towards the beginning. I dunno why, but I like it. xD_

_So I've been writing a lot of Isshin-involved things lately. I guess I really like writing using/about his character. His antics are certainly entertaining. :D_

_Anyway, I'm done talking. Thanks to my reviewers and those who favorited and alerted! I have more reviews than I ever thought I would get! Thank you, thank you, thank you! I got the 7 for last chapter! GASP! (Thanks for getting to my goal of 50!)_

**REVIEW! Rukia will make fun of all of your baby pictures if you don't. xD**


	20. The Bet Part 1: Guidelines

_A/N: Takes place somewhere between Substitute and after Soul Society arcs (I'm not counting the Bount arcs since those are fillers). No spoilers._

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach. Apparently I don't have any white clothes...

THE BET: PART 1: GUIDELINES

"Ten bucks says you can't go a week." Ishida pushed his glasses up to the bridge of his nose and smiled mischeviously at the orange-haired teen standing in front of him.

"You're on."

"Good, starting now, right?"

"Wait a minute, Ishida. We have to set some guidelines, right?" Ichigo asked, crossing his arms over his chest.

Ishida nodded. "Fair enough, Kurosaki. What type of guidelines?"

"Well..." Ichigo thought for a moment. "I get to tell Rukia the details of the bet, right?"

The Quincy scowled. "I don't think so."

"So you want me to break her heart, then, huh?"

Pause. "All right, fine. You can tell her under _one_ condition."

"What's that?"

"Make it two weeks." Ishida smiled at his genius.

Ichigo glared at him. "Jackass..." he muttered.

"Any other guidelines?"

"Just that I reserve the right to refuse to do certain things as I go along that aren't specified in the guidelines... and change or add guidelines later, too."

"Fair enough." Ishida brought his finger to his chin, thinking about what guidelines he could make. "Okay, Kurosaki. These are _my_ guidelines. One!" he said, snapping to attention. "You must take Miss Kuchiki on a minimum of 2 dates for one week, 5 for two."

"Five? For two weeks? That's stupid."

"Oh, so you can't do it?"

Ichigo scowled. "It's not that I can't... it's that I don't want to."

"So you will, correct?" Ishida waited for his mumble "yes" before continuing. "Two!" he exclaimed before beginning to pace again. "You must act as if you would if you were actually dating. None of that, 'yeah, we're dating, but we don't like each other' crap. Got it?"

"I suppose that's fair."

"This means that there should be hand-holding, hugging, and, perhaps, even kissing."

"WHA- WHAT? THERE IS NO WAY IN _HELL_ THAT I AM KISSING HER!"

"If the occasion calls for it, then yes, there is." Ishida smirked. "Shall I move on?"

Ichigo kicked at the ground. "Yes..." he muttered grudgingly. Ishida made a mental note to make sure the occasion called for smooches.

"Three! Any failure to abide by any guidelines means that you lose the bet. Breaking up with or never beginning to date Kuchiki Rukia will also automatically mean this. Understood?"

The carrot-top rolled his eyes. "Duh," was all he said.

"All right. Those are all of my guidelines, I believe. I also reserve the right to add any guidelines in the next one to two weeks."

"So," Ichigo said, taking a step closer to the black-haired archer. "Let's make this official."

Ishida smiled and stuck out his hand. "I bet you ten dollars that you, Kurosaki Ichigo, can't last one week (not telling) or two weeks (telling) dating Kuchiki Rukia."

Ichigo sneered and stuck out his hand. "You're on."

* * *

><p>"Oi! Rukia!" Ichigo jogged to catch up to the petite shinigami on her way home, er, to his closet. He had been caught up talking to Ishida and told her to head home without him.<p>

Without looking at him, Rukia kicked him in the shin. "That's for making me walk home alone," she told him icily.

"Ow... Bitch." This only got another kick in response. "OW! Stop that! Listen, I have to talk to you about something."

"What is it, idiot?"

Ichigo scratched the back of his head awkwardly before coming to a stop, forcing Rukia to do the same. "Well, I made a bet with Ishida."

Rukia rolled her eyes. "Oh, boy. _This _ should be good. What was it?"

"Um... well, he bet me that I couldn't... uh... well..."

"Spit it out, Ichigo."

"Right. See, he bet me that I couldn't last two weeks... dating you."

Rukia's eyes widened. Her first reaction was to take offense, which she quickly overcame after she smacked Ichigo across the face. Her next reaction was to laugh hysterically. "Why wasn't I involved in this bet? I'd like to bet against that, too."

"Good. So then, you're in, right?"

Rukia thought for a moment. Was this a good idea? Probably not. But it was too funny to pass up. She started to walk again and Ichigo followed close behind.

"Yeah, I'm in. When do we start?"

"Now. Rukia, do you wanna be my girlfriend?" Ichigo grinned at her sheepishly.

She smirked at him in return. "Yeah," she said, grabbing his hand, "let's do this."

_A/N: Yuppppp... So I hope you like the whole idea of this. I don't know how many parts there'll be. I guess it depends on how much you folks want. :)_

_Writer's Block has been a bitch lately, so sorry if my writing has shown it more in the past few days. The book I told you about ("The Writer's Book Of Matches") helps a lot, but sometimes my brain is so fried it still doesn't do too much for me. Also, sorry if I don't post as regularly as I have been in the next couple days. I'll try really hard, but sometimes I sit down to write at the computer and nothing comes out._

_Anywho, thanks to all of you who read, review, favorite, and follow! It means SOO much to you! In case you don't know, I reply to reviews once a week (Sundays), so you'll all hear from me then! As always, keep reviewing and being awesome and such. Okay, thanks, bye!_

**REVIEW! I bet you 10 figurative dollars that you can't...**


	21. Secrets

_A/N: Continuation of "Blessings," "The Proposal," and "Moving In." No spoilers._

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach. Unfortunatetly, I'm not a man, I'm not Japanese, I don't have awesome drawing/writing skills, and I don't look anything like Kubo Tite. :(

SECRETS

"Nii-sama, I have to tell you something," Rukia said quietly, refusing to look her brother in the eyes. _Here goes nothing,_ she thought. She almost wished that she had told Ichigo come with her, but they had agreed that Byakuya would be less likely to kill him if her fiance wasn't present when he found out.

"What is it, Rukia?" Byakuya asked in his stoic manner.

The raven-haired shinigami subconsciously put her hands on her slightly bulging stomach. "Well... Ichigo and I... are going to have a baby." She spat the last part out, hoping to get it over with quickly.

...Silence.

Suddenly, Byakuya gave a small chuckle. _Oh, no, this is the part when he kil- wait, did he just CHUCKLE?_ Rukia knew that something was wrong. Her brother NEVER chuckled or laughed or anything remotely resembling such things, including smiling. "N-Nii-sama?" she asked hesitantly.

"That was a good joke, Rukia." Byakuya looked at her with empty eyes again, obviously believing that what she had just told him to be false.

* * *

><p>"Dad, don't freak out, okay?" Ichigo was sitting on the family's couch with his father, who was halfway to tears already, ecstatic that his son had come to visit even though he was "a man now," as Isshin put it.<p>

"Can't promise anything, son!" The goat-face clapped his son on the back heartily. "Now what was it that you wanted to tell me?"

"Well, Dad..." Ichigo squirmed. He really, _really_ didn't want to tell his father this. At least not alone. But he and Rukia agreed: they would each go to their families seperately to tell them about the baby. While he was glad that he didn't have to face Byakuya to tell him, he wasn't exactly thrilled that he had to tell his father by himself. He knew his father would be joyous to hear the news, but that's exactly what Ichigo was afraid of. Isshin extremely happy and excited usually ended badly. He would almost rather a fight to the death with Byakuya.

During his inner rant to himself, Ichigo hadn't realized he had zoned out. He was quickly brought back to reality when his father punched him in the jaw. "Stealth! That's an important thing to remember when attacking your opponent!" Isshin was yelling. Ichigo cut him off with a kick in the gut.

"Shut up, goat-face."

Tears streaming down his face, Isshin, laying crumpled on the floor, whimpered, "Well done, my son. I have nothing more to teach you."

"Heard that one before," Ichigo muttered before sitting back down on the couch. "Anyway, as I was saying... Dad, you're going to be... a... a... grandfather."

Isshin's jaw dropped and he either gasped or took in an extra amount of air for a louder yell. "GRANDFATHER? MASAKI! ARE YOU HEARING THIS?"

* * *

><p>"Nii-sama, it wasn't a joke."<p>

Byakuya turned his ice-cold eyes to his sister. "It must be, since I specifically told Kurosaki 'no children for two years.' There is no other explanantion."

"Nii-sama-"

"Rukia. That is enough. I do not appreciate this joke anymore."

Getting frustrated, Rukia pointed to her stomach. "There is a baby in here, Nii-sama. It is Ichigo's and we are planning on keeping it."

Byakuya stood up and began walking to the door. "Rukia, if you cannot stop this nonsense now, I will have to ask you to leave."

"I'm pregnant, dammit!" Rukia finally snapped. A moment later, she felt shocked; that was the first time that she had lost her temper with her brother.

The noble slowly turned around to look at her. "You are not... kidding?"

"No, Nii-sama. I'm not." Rukia attempted to smile. "You're going to be an uncle."

* * *

><p>Ichigo sighed and looked at his watch. It had been a full 20 minutes now, but Isshin was still wailing on the floor next to the giant picture of his late wife.<p>

"MASAKIIIIIIII! WE ARE GOING TO BE GRANDPARENTS!"

The soon-to-be father sighed again, scowling. "Dad."

"WE WILL HAVE LITTLE FEET PITTER-PATTING IN THE HOUSE AGAIN!"

"Dad."

"SOMEONE WHO FINALLY LOOKS UP TO MEEE!"

"Dad!"

"SOMEONE WHO LOVES TO SPEND TIME AT (*gulp*) GRANDDADDY'S HOUSE!"

"DAD! SHUT THE HELL UP!" Ichigo aimed a kick at Isshin's jaw, knocking him over and _finally_ catching his attention.

"Well done, my son," Isshin croaked, tears still streaming down his cheeks.

Ichigo rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah, I know. You've 'taught me all there is to know.' I get it."

"No," Isshin said, standing up and placing a hand on his son's shoulder. "_Well done._"

Finally, the carrot top understood. Well done for having a kid. For everything. "Thanks, Dad."

"You finally got laid! I had no idea! Oh, Masaki! Our son is a man! He isn't gay after all! I'm so prou-"

Ichigo looked at his knocked out father crumpled in a heap on the floor. "Eh. That should do it for a little while."

* * *

><p>"Why is Kurosaki not here with you to tell me?" Byakuya asked as icily as he could muster. The fool hadn't even had the courage to tell him face-to-face, but sent his sister instead.<p>

"We... thought it best if we split up. He's telling his father right now," Rukia explained, waiting for a reaction from her older brother.

Byakuya scoffed, or the closest he could come to scoffing, and said, "He broke his promise to me. I therefore take back my blessing. You may not marry a man who cannot keep his promises."

"Nii-sama-"

"I do not wish to hear it, Rukia."

"Nii-sama! Listen, please!" Rukia surprised herself again (and her brother) by talking back to him. "I was already pregnant when he asked you for your blessing. Besides, I do not believe that he ever promised such a thing."

"Even so, you two are not yet married and it is incredibly irresponsible to have a child before you are wed."

"I understand, Nii-sama. I apologize." Rukia bowed her head in apology.

Byakuya took in the defeated pose of his sister before speaking again. "Good. If you understand, I'd like you to give the child up for adoption as soon as it is born."

"Nii-sama! I can't do that. We both want this child and will take good care of it!"

The noble sighed. "You are too young, Rukia."

Before she knew what she was doing, she blurted out, "But, Nii-sama! If it's a boy, we were going to name it after you! We were going to name it Byakuya!"

_...Oh, shit._

* * *

><p>"Onii-chan, why is Okasan on the floor?" Yuzu asked when she walked in the room after coming home from school.<p>

Karin walked in after her and rolled her eyes. "Really, Yuzu? You're still asking that? How long have you been living in this house with these two idiots, exactly?"

"I... I guess," Yuzu said, shrugging it off.

"The question we _should_ be asking is why you're here, Ichigo? Aren't you all moved in at you and Rukia's new place?"

The orange-haired shinigami nodded. "Yeah... I just stopped by to tell Dad the news."

Yuzu gave him a puzzled look. "What news, Onii-chan?"

Ichigo grinned at them. "Well... how would you two feel about being aunts?"

Yuzu squealed and rushed to give him a hug as Karin shrugged. "Sure. Congrats," she added, feeling the need to express _some_ excitement for her brother.

"Thanks, Karin, Yuzu."

"When is it due?" Yuzu asked, tears welling up in her eyes.

Ichigo shrugged. "Don't know yet. It's pretty recent... Rukia's just now starting to show."

"Ichigo! My son! I will give you a free appointment!" Isshin had woken up. "Anything for my boy who is now a man! Yuzu, Karin, did you know that Ichigo got lai-"

Without skipping a beat, Ichigo promptly knocked the old man out for the second time that day.

* * *

><p>"So, he was okay with it?" Ichigo asked in disbelief that night as they sat on the couch. Rukia's legs were propped up on his lap and he rubbed her feet.<p>

Rukia nodded. "At first, I thought he was going to kill you. But... I convinced him."

Ichigo raised and eyebrow. "Oh really, now? And how, pray tell, did you manage that?"

"Well," she said and then coughed into her hand. "I told him that we both wanted the baby and we were going to keep it... and he still was trying to force us to give it up. But then..." She mumbled something incoherently.

"What? I couldn't hear you."

Rukia blushed and looked away. "I told him that we would _mumble, mumble, mumble._"

"Rukia... what did you do?" Ichigo asked in alarm, ceasing his soothing massage on her feet.

"Don't be mad, okay?" she pleaded. "I... I told him that if it was a boy... we'd name him after Nii-sama."

... "WHAT THE HELL, RUKIA?"

_A/N: Heehee, I had to do it! Now, your opinion, if you please. Should the kid be a boy (and subsequently named Byakuya) or a girl (and be named by you folks, if you give me any names!)? Let me know in your review!_

_Speaking of reviews... THANK YOU! I'm at 62! GASP! You guys are AWESOME! xD_

_As for the poll, these are the responses I got:_

_The question: Who would you want to tell about Rukia's pregnancy the least (and I apologize for the typo! It was supposed to be least, not last!)?_

_**A) Byakuya:**__ 4 votes_

_**B) Isshin: **__2 votes_

_**C) Urahara: **__1 vote_

_**D) (Insert Bleach character here): **__1 vote for Rangiku_

_Personally, I'd have to tie it for Byakuya and Isshin. Byakuya would most likely kill me on the spot (or Ichigo, and I love him too much to let that slide, haha.) On the other hand, Isshin would be so incredibly embarrassing and obnoxious that I wouldn't really want to tell him, either. :)_

_I know that this is pretty quick for the series update already, but I have been gone all day and am about to leave soon, too, and this was the only one I already had written up, so voila! Something else tomorrow!_

_Let me know if you liked having a poll! If you do, I might add them every once and a while._

**REVIEW! You know this story is fiction... maybe Byakuya and Isshin don't know yet. You wanna tell them?**


	22. OrangeFist

_A/N: No spoilers, takes place in future, as so many of mine do._

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach. I do, however, own Hcaelb! I made it up just now. It's awesome.

ORANGE-FIST

"ERI!" Rukia cried frantically as she ran into the hospital room. "Are you okay?"

A small, black-haired boy sat on a hospital bed clutching his arm. When his mother walked in, he gave her a weak smile through his tears. "Aa. Hi, Mom." A busty middle-aged Orihime stood by the door silently, letting the worried mother through.

Rukia had to stop herself from flash-stepping to his side; she didn't think the nurses would quite understand if she disappeared and reappeared. "What happened?"

In a corner sat a tiny black-haired girl in a pink polka-dotted dress. She was crying softly and sat with her arms wrapped around her legs. She, too, looked up when her mother came in. "It's my fault," she answered to the older woman's question. "It's all my fault."

"Amami! It's not your fault!" Eri protested, glaring at her. He turned to his mother to explain. "I fell off a tree."

"Because of me!" Amami put in. "I was in the tree and I was scared, so Eri was climbing up to get me down! And then he... he was reaching to grab my hand... and he fell!"

Orihime finally spoke up. "She keeps saying that it's her fault, and we keep trying to tell her it's not. She won't listen."

Rukia ran to her daughter's side and put a hand behind her back. "Amami, it isn't your fault. He is just like Daddy. They both do everything they can to protect the ones they love. That's all he was trying to do. And if he's anything like your father," Rukia muttered darkly, "he won't let anyone or anything stop him. It's almost killed your dad a couple times." The last part she said under her breath so she didn't worry Amami any more.

Amami looked down at her small pink shoes again. "It's still my fault," she whispered, mostly to herself.

"Stop that, Amami. It is not your fault, okay? We all love you and no one blames you at all. It was an accident, okay? It was no one's fault."

"Yeah, Amami, I would've fallen even if you weren't there," Eri said, smiling at her slightly.

"But you wouldn't have even been up there if not for me!"

"That's enough, Amami. It's not your fault, and that's final," Rukia said sternly, wiping away her daughter's tears. "Now, where's Daddy?"

Eri shrugged and Amami said that she didn't know, they hadn't seen him yet. A few seconds later, the door burst open and Ichigo stood there, looking very worried with a small orange-haired toddler in his arms.

"Sorry I'm late. I had to pick up Hinako from Dad's," he told Rukia before handing her the sleeping form of their 2-year old. "Now, how are you, Eri? What happened?"

"Dad! I'm great! It doesn't hurt at all!" Eri said cheerfully, trying to be brave for his father.

Ichigo grinned at him and went to sit beside him on the hospital bed and put an arm around him. "That's my boy. What happened?"

Eri shrugged, trying to appear passive. "I fell off a tree trying to protect Amami."

Ichigo's grin widened as Rukia muttered something about Eri getting "bad genes."

"Good for you. How's your arm? Is it broken?"

Eri shrugged. "They haven't told me yet. They took some pictures of it, though. It was cool! It was a big machine that took pictures through my skin of my bone!"

Ichigo chuckled. "An X-ray?" he asked. Eri nodded. "Have you seen the pictures yet?" He wanted to see them and figure out what was wrong with his son's arm. Even if he was a surgeon, he could still figure out what a broken bone looked like.

"No, but the nurse said the doctor would be bringing them in soon and tell us the verdict," Orihime told him from her place at the door.

"Inoue!" Ichigo stood and walked over to the red-head. "I didn't see you there! Did you get the kids here?"

She nodded. "I was already there picking up Jiro from kindergarten. Since I'm on the emergency contact list for Eri, I was allowed to take them both here while the school called you two."

"Hai. Thank you, Inoue," Ichigo said, giving her a smile. "Where's Jiro now?"

"He's playing in his daddy's office."

Just then the door opened and Ishida walked in, carrying a clipboard and some X-rays. "Kurosaki, Rukia-chan."

"Ishida-kun," Rukia replied, nodding her head slightly before looking up and meeting his eyes. "Well? What's the problem, Doc?"

Ishida put the X-rays up for the family to see. Ichigo's eyebrows furrowed as he scrutinized the photos of his son's arm. He saw that, for the most part, the bone was uninjured... until he got to the wrist joint.

"Fractured," Ishida and Ichigo said at the same time. If it wasn't such a serious occasion, they would've smirked.

"It'll have to be in a hard cast for about 6 weeks. After that, unless it's still in pain, it should be able to come off. If it's still hurting you, Eri, then we'll put it in a soft cast for a while. Depending on how your x-rays look then, that is," Ishida explained to the small boy who nodded bravely, still clutching his arm. "Now, you get to pick out a cast. What color would you like?"

Eri thought for a moment before looking at his dad and smiling. "Orange." Ichigo grinned back at him.

Ishida smirked. "Orange, got it. Let's get a nurse in here," he said out the hallway. A nurse quickly ran up and he gave her instructions to get a orange cast ready. The nurse nodded and walked away again, leaving the family and friends in the small room together.

"Uryu," Orihime called gently, and her husband went over and held her hand.

"Where's Jiro?" he asked, concerned about his second-born.

"In your office," she told him, smiling slightly. He scowled and pushed up his glasses.

"If he gets into my files again..." he trailed off darkly. "What about Kazuki?"

Orihime's smile grew. "He's in there, too."

Ishida groaned. His sons were forces to be reckoned with when together. He'd never get his office back in order.

The nurse came back in holding several packages. She smiled at Eri and sat down next to him. "Are you excited for your cast?"

Eri nodded enthusiastically. "I'mma get everyone to sign it!"

Opening the first package, the nurse chuckled. "That's a good plan," she said as she wrapped the first part of the cast on his arm.

Once the cast was finally on, Eri jumped up and lifted his arm up in the air. "I am the mighty ORANGE-FIST!" he cried, successfully making his four-year old sister giggle. He grinned and ran up to her. "My lady! You appear to be in a heap of trouble! Let me save you!"

Ichigo chuckled at his two children who were now playing "superheroes." Rukia stood next to him, still holding Hinako in her arms. Somehow, even with all of the commotion going around, she was still asleep. Ichigo brushed her hair back and kissed the top of her head softly. Smiling at his daughter sweetly, he wrapped an arm around Rukia's waist and pulled her towards him.

"I think he's gonna be okay," she whispered softly as she watched Eri and Amami giggling and running around the hospital room.

Ichigo kissed the top of her head lightly. "I think we all will be," he said. And they both knew it to be true.

_A/N: Sorry if this sucks balls. I am completely unmotivated to write right now. So... tired... BUT! I wanted to get one up before the day ended! And voila! I still have an hour (in my time zone)!_

_This was a request by an anonymus reviewer! Thanks, anonymus reviewer! I hope that you can read it even though you probably won't know that I updated!_

_Thanks to everyone who has reviewed and such thus far! I will reply to reviews tomorrow! And _hopefully_ I'll have another one-shot for you all tomorrow, too. I'm not making any promises this time, though._

_Thanks for reading, and as always..._

**REVIEW! Do you find it unsettling that I threaten you so much? (If you don't review, I'll break your arm! ...Or not.)**


	23. Double Date

_A/N: Takes place sometime within the series before the Haceo Mundo arc. You can decide wherever you want! Congrats! No spoilers._

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach. I own all of your souls, however. MUAH, HA, HA, HA! (I'm feeling a little evil today...)

DOUBLE DATE

Ichigo glared at the couple sitting across the restaurant with so much malice that he was surprised that it didn't knock them over. _How dare she?_ he thought to himself. _How dare she go on a date. With Renji of all people! Disgusting_. He scoffed to himself and, still glaring, grabbed his water violently and took a sip. He banged it back down on the table only to hear a slight yelp coming from the other side.

"K-Kurosaki-kun?" _Oh, yeah, _Ichigo thought, feeling slightly guilty for forgetting. _I'm with Inoue right now. On a date._ Quickly, he shook himself of his thoughts and turned back to her, smiling widely.

"Sorry, Inoue, I just got a little distracted." He gestured over to the table of two that he had just been beating the crap out of in his mind.

Inoue gasped. "Oh! It's Kuchiki-san and Abari-kun!" She stood and began to wave. "Kuchiki-san! Abari-kun! Over here!"

Startled, the two looked up to follow the voice. When they saw Inoue, both broke out in smiles and waved. They turned back to each other and seemed to be discussing something. Rukia gestured towards the table with the two orange-haired teens and Renji shrugged and nodded. They stood and began walking over, but Renji stopped when their waitress walked by and he began to talk to her.

"Inoue-san! Hello! What are you doing... here," she finished confused as her eyes rested on the substitute shinigami. "Ichigo? Wha-?"

Inoue, rather excitedly, grabbed his hand that was laying on the table and smiled hugely. "We're on a date!" she explained, her eyes shining and her grin widening. Ichigo only grunted in agreement. He was busy glaring at Rukia.

Said shinigami's smile faltered slightly when she heard the news, but before Ichigo could be sure he saw it, another grin, bigger than the last, appeared on her face. "Oh! What a coincidence! I'm on a date with Renji!"

Ichigo felt another wave of red-hot anger wash over him. "A date, huh? With Renji? Really, Rukia?"

Both females looked at him quizzically before Rukia replied. "Yeah, really. He asked me, and I couldn't think of a reason to say no, so I agreed." She shrugged. "It's been good so far."

Ichigo snorted and grumbled, "Couldn't think of a reason. Ha! I'll give you three good reasons!" He held up a finger. "One, his hair is ridiculous."

"Ichigo, your hair is just as-"

"Two!" he interrupted her swiftly. "He's not alive."

"Neither am-"

"Three," he interrupted yet again, holding up three fingers. "He has weird tatoos."

"Ichigo, those reasons are completely ridiculous," Rukia protested as Inoue nodded.

Renji finally came over to them and put an arm around his date's shoulder, successfully ending that conversation as Ichigo grumbled incoherently under his breath. "I talked to the waitress. We're gonna all sit together now. It's a double date!" He grinned, happy with his accomplishment. Inoue squealed and clapped in excitement, Rukia gave a weak smile, and Ichigo spat out a sarcastic, "hurray!"

The two additions pulled up chairs as the waitress handed them menus. Renji rubbed his hands together in anticipation as he looked over the dishes listed. "Hmmm... what's good here?"

Inoue gasped slightly and, eyes shinning, said, "Oh! I love just about everything. But my favorite is to get peta bread with bean paste, pickles, chopped liver, and ice cream!" She didn't notice while everyone else at the table blanched at the thought, but instead appeared deep in thought. "For some reason, they don't list that as an option. You have to ask for it specially."

Ichigo coughed. "Huh... that's... weird," he said, trying to cover for everyone who was currently turning various shades of green.

Inoue shrugged. "Oh well! That's what I'm going to get!"

Rukia, still a little green, tried to push Inoue's meal out of her mind as she skimmed the menu over again. "Hmm... I think I might get... hmm... oh, there's too many choices!"

"We could split a plate of spaghetti," suggested Renji.

Ichigo, plagued with images of the two of them eating the dish Lady-and-the-Tramp style, scowled and quickly retorted, "No! The spaghetti isn't good here." _Dammit,_ he thought. _Now what am I gonna get?_ Spaghetti was the only thing he actually loved at this restaurant, but now, according to him, it was disgusting.

"Okay..." Rukia said, eyeing Ichigo strangely. "What do you like, then, Ichigo?"

"Uh..." Ichigo glanced down at the menu and said the first thing that he saw. "The margaritas!" _Facepalm._ "I, uh, mean... uh... Ha, ha, that was a funny joke, right?" He tried laughing casually, but it sounded more like a cat being strangled.

All three pairs of eyes looked at him strangely, showing a mix between concern, confusion, and, in Rukia's case, anger. "Uh, yeah, sure," Renji said, unsure whether it was actually a joke or not. The way Ichigo was acting suggested he might've had a few margaritas before they came over.

"Uh, what I actually think is good is the pizza," Ichigo said, trying to save himself.

"Piz...za..." Rukia tried the new word out. "Pizza. What is it?" She looked to Ichigo and Inoue quizzically.

"Ooh! Pizza is really good!" Inoue said excitedly. "It's crust, which is like a special kind of bread, with sauce on it and cheese and any other toppings you like! My favorites are-"

"Oh, okay! Let's try that," Renji said a little too loudly, just trying to cut off Inoue before she made them all sick again.

Rukia nodded. "O-okay. Sure. Pizza."

Ichigo closed his menu. "I think I'll have that, too."

Once they all knew what they were ordering, it was as if a cloud of awkwardness hovered above them. They sat in silence for a few minutes, all just looking at each other (or glaring, in Ichigo's case) before the waitress came back to get their orders. They gave them to her and she walked away, leaving the group to feel awkward once more.

"So... how long has this," Renji gestured to Ichigo and Inoue, "been going on?"

Ichigo mumbled something as Inoue squealed again and linked her arm with his. "Oh, just yesterday! I decided to stop waiting for him to ask me on a date and took charge!" She grinned widely at the other couple while Ichigo had a silent glaring contest with the floor.

Rukia giggled. "That sounds like Tatsuki-chan's doing," she remarked.

Inoue blushed and nodded. "Yeah, she told me to, well, get some courage and tell him how I feel." Inoue frowned slightly. "She used different words, though."

Renji yawned, stretched and oh-so-smoothly rested an arm around Rukia's shoulder. Ichigo growled, but why, he had no idea. "It was Keigo and all those nasty rumors for me. I was sick of everyone saying that I was dating her when I couldn't even say it myself. Keigo finally pushed it to the limit when he accused me of lacking balls." Renji turned to look at his date and stroked her hair softly.

Ichigo wanted to rip his fingers off.

"That shouldn't be a reason to go on a date," he growled darkly, not taking his eyes off the fingers that he was currently imagining feeding to the widelife around Karakura. "It should be because you genuinely like each other, not because of some stupid rumors."

Renji turned slightly pink, but it was Rukia that spoke. "At least he had the courage to ask me out, unlike _you._" She paused, a deep blush crawling on her cheeks before she continued. "I mean, unlike you could with Inoue," she sputtered, trying to cover for her mistake.

Ichigo growled again for what seemed to be the hundredth time that night. "I didn't think I had feelings for her until she asked me."

"So then you didn't even know that you liked her?" Rukia said, her voice rising slightly as she leaned forward. "And you agreed to go on a date with her? As an afterthought?"

Ichigo scoffed. "It's better than the 'not having a good reason to say no, so why not?' approach, _Rukia._"

"You bastard," she said, glaring daggers.

"Bitch," he returned.

"Ooookayy..." Renji interrupted, pulling Rukia back into her chair. "Not that that wasn't fun, but..."

Inoue looked as if she might start crying. "Y-yeah," she said shakily.

Hit with another wave of guilt, Ichigo smiled at her and put and arm around her. He turned back to Rukia and his smile changed from one of reassurement to that of smugness. She, in turn, grabbed Renji's hand and intertwined her fingers in his, glaring at Ichigo the whole time.

"Ah, our meal's here!" Inoue said, smiling and pointing towards the waitress who was currently making her way towards them carrying a large platter with four plates, a pizza, and a disgusting entree on it. She handed out their food and soon they all began eating, Ichigo and Rukia still glaring daggers at each other.

"How's your pizza, Abari-kun?" Inoue asked before she shoveled another bite of whatever it was she was eating into her mouth.

Renji took another bite of the food and closed his eyes. "Mmmm..." After he swallowed, he opened his eyes again. "Delicious!"

Rukia, meanwhile, was having issues. The pizza was too big to hold in one of her tiny hands and too messy to hold in both, and every time she brought it to her mouth, the cheese fell off the side. Finally, she set it down and stared at it.

"You know, Rukia, it's not going to magically float up to your mouth. You have to pick it up," Ichigo mocked with a smirk in place.

Renji chuckled softly before picking up her peice of pizza and piling the cheese back on. "Here," he said before lifting the pizza to her lips and she took a bite, licking her lips to catch the run-away sauce that had tried to escape.

Ichigo glared at the couple again before taking his napkin and dabbing it lightly on Inoue's lips. "There. You had some, uh, bean paste or ice cream or something on you."

Inoue turned beet-red and didn't notice as Ichigo and Rukia began glaring at each other again.

"Here, Renji," Rukia said forcefully. "Let me help you with your napkin." She grabbed his napkin and roughly tucked it in his shirt. He looked down, confused.

Ichigo stood up and walked behind Inoue's chair. "Inoue, let me push you in more," he said as he shoved her against the table, successfully taking her breath away (not in the way she had hoped when he agreed to the date) and rocking the table slightly.

"Sweetie pie, let me get your fork," Rukia said as she not-so-covertly knocked it off the table.

"Shnukums, do you want any dessert? Let me grab that for you-"

"Baby-cakes, you have crumbs on your shirt, I'll wipe it off-"

"Pumpkin, your hair is getting in your food, let me pull it back for you-"

"Renji-poo, let me run and get you a new water-"

"Muffin, why don't I grab you the salt and pepper-"

This went on for a while, neither one realizing that not only were their voices getting louder and louder, but they also got closer to each other with each offer to their respective "dates." Soon, they were nearly face-to-face, literally. Rukia's breath caught when she realized how close they were, but instead of backing off, Ichigo's instinct kicked in.

He grabbed the back of her neck almost violently and yanked her head up to his. Their lips met and for a moment, both stood, shocked at what had just happened. A fraction of a second longer, however, and their lips went to work, moving in perfect sync together as if they'd been doing this for years. Rukia pulled herself closer to him and his arms went around her tiny waist, lifting her up higher to more comfortably kiss. She, in turn, threw her arms around his neck and stood on the tips of her toes to better reach him. When they broke apart slightly to gasp for air before crashing their lips back together, Ichigo forced his tongue into her mouth to caress the inside of her cheek. She tasted like pizza, and Ichigo was suddenly relieved that he was kissing her and not Inoue right now.

Somewhere beside them, they heard someone clear their throat. Heart pounding and faces fire-engine red, they broke apart and turned to see their waitress standing awkwardly. "We're having some complaints... I'm sorry, but if you can't stop being a disturbance, I'll have to ask you to leave."

Ichigo, only growing more red with each face he saw, turned to look at Inoue and Renji. The latter had his mouth wide open, pizza not only chewed up inside, but dribbling down onto his napkin that Rukia had oh-so-polietly tucked in his collar for him. Inoue, on the other hand, looked as though she was about to burst into tears any second. A pang of guilt hit him for the third time that evening. How long had she liked him? And now, after finally agreeing to a date with her, he made out with another girl.

"Inoue, I-"

"Oh, no, Kurosaki-kun!" she protested, trying to smile through her tears. Her voice was shaky and cracked a few times. "I'm just happy that you two finally realized your feelings for each other." She looked down to the ground. "I knew it was foolish of me to tell you how I felt, but I couldn't not... I just wish..." She trailed off absent-mindedly. Then, with a start, she looked back up to them and smiled a huge grin. "Congratulations! I'm glad you two finally figured it out!"

"R-Renji?" Rukia asked hesitantly. "Renji, I'm sor-"

The red-head raised a hand to stop her, finally closing his mouth. He stood without a word and laid the napkin on the table. Finally, he spoke, still not looking at them. "Ichigo. If you hurt her..." He brought his eyes up to the substitute's. "I'll kill you," he finished.

Ichigo only nodded in return and the pineapple left the restaurant without another word.

Inoue smiled at them shakily, still fighting off tears. With a bow, she said, "I should probably go, too. See you later! Bye!" She began to run out of the Italian place before Ichigo could stop her and make sure she was all right.

When both dates were gone, Ichigo turned to Rukia. He chanced a small smile at her, which she returned. She sat down without a word and began eating her pizza again. Ichigo followed her lead and he too sat in silence.

After a few moments of this, Rukia looked up and smiled at him. "His hair _is_ ridiculous."

Ichigo smiled back at her and put his hand over her's. "Yeah," he said, "it is."

_A/N: Voila! I wrote this in one sitting! GASP! Be amazed, folks! I haven't been able to do that for weeks! This idea came to me and I just started writing. Of course, I stayed up till nearly 2 to do it, and I was already exhausted... so you guys better be thankful that I love you so much! Ha, ha._

_Thanks to my reviewers, favoriters, and alerters thus far! __**70**__ freakin' reviews! GAHH! That's so cool! :D_

_Yup. Don't really have much more to say. Except for the usual..._

**REVIEW! Or you'll have to eat the remainders of Inoue's meal! MUAH, HA, HA, HA!**


	24. What's Wrong With Ichigo

_A/N: Takes place when Ichigo/Rukia are in college. No spoilers._

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach. If I did, it'd be 9 parts IchiRuki, 1 part plot.

WHAT'S WRONG WITH ICHIGO

"Would you like me to tell you exactly what's wrong with you?" Rukia asked, a hand on her hip as she stared at Ichigo in disbelief.

Said shinigami threw his hands up in the air. "Yes! Please! Inform me!" he said exasperately.

Rukia pursed her lips and looked up to the ceiling before shifting and looking back at him. "Fine. I will." She walked over to the orange-headed young adult and jabbed a finger at him. "You scowl too much, you're rude, you're stubborn, you call me 'midget,' you're too tall, you have _orange hair_ for Christ's sake, you're never happy, you never smile, you hate getting up early, and you snore!"

Ichigo glared at her. Against his will, he felt the corners of his mouth lift slightly. "Is that it?"

"Augh!" Rukia exclaimed, crossing her arms over her chest. "No, that's not it. Do you really want me to go on?" She gave him a look that warned him to answer correctly.

"Yeah, I do." An angry dart of eyes told Ichigo that this was _not_ the right answer.

"Okay, fine!" Rukia began pacing as she listed things on her fingers. "You either talk too much or too little, you're oblivious, you're reckless, you take _forever_ in the bathroom doing who-knows-what," she took a deep breath before moving on. "You have an awful singing voice (yes, I do hear you in the shower, stupid.) Oh! You're stupid, you're an idiot, you're a moron, you're a bak-"

"Rukia, that's all the same thing, just different words!" Ichigo protested. She shot him another glare and mumbled something that sounded like "you asked" before continuing.

"You interrupt me _all the freakin' time._ You have an outrageous father, you solve all of your problems with your fist, you don't listen to instruction, or rather, you listen to instruction and make a point to rebel against it. You have no sense of humor, you have no patience, you won't eat brocoli, you _hate_ Chappy, you hate my Nii-sama, he hates you, you have a huge ego..."

Ichigo sighed and sat down on his old bed. Rukia continued on, taking a stance in front of him. He zoned out for a minute, knowing that she had plenty of greivances against him. He was here visiting his family and Rukia had come along. They were on break from school at the college they both went to and Rukia didn't feel like going back to Soul Society. Not like she had a choice, exactly; she was stationed in the Living World for the time being and it didn't look like she'd be going back any time soon. Not that Ichigo minded; it was nice having her around. Usually.

"...you beat your father, you beat your friends, you beat _me._ You can't accept help from anyone, even if you really need it. You blame yourself for everything, you won't listen to reason, you don't take care of yourself in more ways than one..."

_Yeah,_ Ichigo thought. _She'll be going for a while._ He knew he should be listening. After all, he _did_ ask for it. Literally. But her voice got in a certain tone when she got like this and Ichigo didn't exactly find it invigorating. He sighed again and tried to act as if he were paying attention while his mind wandered elsewhere.

College with Rukia was... for lack of a better term, interesting. She stayed in the dormitory next to his, so most nights they would study together, even though he was studying education and she was majoring in journalism. It was just nice to have a friend at his side as he studied. They sometimes blew off their homework or papers and instead popped some popcorn and watched a movie. Or they went for a walk around the campus lake. Or sometimes, Ichigo's favorite activity, they simply sat and talked, her legs propped up on his, both of them curled up on the couch. They laughed and talked until after the sun went down.

It was the best of times.

"...even listening to me anymore?"

Ichigo snapped out of his train of thought and looked up at Rukia with startled eyes. "Uh, yeah, I'm still listening," he said, trying to cover up his blunder.

Rukia let out an infuriated cry, grabbing her raven-colored locks in frustration. "That's another thing! You don't listen whenever I talk! You don't think my opinion on anything is worth knowing, even if you ask for it! You don't even-AUGH!"

"Sorry. So... What else is wrong with me?"

The petite shinigami shot him another glare. "Are you going to listen this time?" she asked in a dangerously low voice.

Ichigo nodded. "Intently," he said.

She sighed before speaking again. "Okay." Rukia took a deep breath and pushed on. "You won't take 'no' for an answer, you have a weird name, you have weird hair, you have a false perception of what your name _means-_"

"It means 'one protector,' Rukia," Ichigo told her.

"SEE? It means 'Strawberry,' Ichigo. STRAW-BER-RY! Jeez!" She let out a long sigh and sat beside him. He thought maybe she was done, but a moment later she continued, but this time, her voice was soft and almost sad. "You don't let anyone protect _you_, you have to protect everyone. You don't care if you die, you would rather die than let someone be hurt." She looked up at him sadly. "You don't realize that if you did die, people would be hurting a lot more than if you let them go." She smiled slightly and raised her voice again a little. "You keep pressing this damn issue, even though I've answered you so many freakin' times already!"

Rukia let out a shaky breath before looking him in the eye again, seemingly searching for something in them. When she spoke again, her voice was softer than before and it held a note of uncertainty and disbelief. "You... love me, even though you have no reason to." She looked down at the floor and fiddled with the hem of her dress. "You make me love you even when I don't want to, even when I can't."

Ichigo cupped a hand under her chin and brought her head up to meet his eyes. "I love you because you're an amazing woman, Rukia. I can't even... describe how amazing you are." He wanted nothing more than to crush his lips against hers at that moment, but he knew that if he did, he'd have all of her wrath upon him when they parted. He'd learned the hard way from personal experience.

"You're brave and caring and wonderful and I love you. I love talking to you until the sun goes down, I love walking with you, I love just _being_ with you. I don't ever want to be away from you." Ichigo knelt down in front of her, her chin still in his hand. "And you love me back. You've said so. So... why?"

Rukia shrugged and shook her head sadly. "You know why, Ichigo."

"No I don't," Ichigo protested. "Is it because of Byakuya? Screw him! Is it because of Soul Society? Who cares? I want to be with you, Rukia, no matter the consequences. Now," he looked her straight in the eye and smiled. "Why won't you marry me?"

_A/N: Did you see that coming? BAM! Caught you off guard, right? Riiigghht...? Ah, whatever._

_I know this is short, but I kinda hated the thought of dragging it out since it kinda ended where it did on it's own. Hurray for stories writing themselves! Could this be...? The end of my writer's block? *Knocks on wood.* Let's hope so._

_Also, sorry for the sap. I know you guys don't like that very much! But I do, so too bad... I need to write some sap every once and a while. And it wasn't too much... was it?_

_THANK YOU SO MUCH TO ALL OF YOU AWESOME REVIEWERS! I wanted you to know how special you are. :D Every time I get a review, suggestion, question, or request my day gets ten times brighter. I've had a couple 100x bright days since I started writing. ;) Thank you all so much! I love you all._

_Keep the reviews coming! I think they help a little with writer's block, too! :D (*wink, wink*)_

**REVIEW! You don't want me to list everything wrong with you, do you? In truth, that'd be pretty pathetic. The farthest I'd get would be, "you didn't review." Ooh, ouch, Poisonfish! That hurt...**


	25. Contact

_A/N: Takes place after everything with Aizen happened. Minor spoilers, not really any._

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach. I am not Tubo Kite... or am I?

CONTACT

She rolled over again. Karin was snoring loudly and Yuzu was mumbling in her sleep. How was anyone supposed to sleep like this? Letting out an exasperated sigh, Rukia sat up. She grabbed her pillow and quietly let her feet hit the floor before sneaking out of the room.

The hallway was dark. Really, really dark. Normally, this wouldn't be a problem for Rukia; she was a brave girl. But at night, alone, after everything that had happened... she got a little freaked out. She began to jog down to Ichigo's room, but ran into something... hairy? Before she knew what was happening, she was falling head-first onto whatever the hairy thing was. It turned out to only be a pillow, but the pillow was on a large box, which she landed on loudly and quite painfully.

Still aching as she got up, she all-out ran the remainder of the way to Ichigo's room as she heard the grumblings of Isshin, who a moment later opened the door, turned on the hallway light, and looked around. When he didn't find anything, he flipped the switch and went back into his room, mumbling something about having a bad dream.

Rukia let out the air she hadn't realized she'd been holding in before turning around to face Ichigo's room. She turned, trying in vain to still her beating heart, and found herself face-to-face with Ichigo himself. She screamed as her heart beat furiously in her chest. "Ichigo!"

Rubbing his eyes, said shinigami looked at her sleepily. "Rukia? What are you doing in here?"

Rukia was still having a hard time sorting through her thoughts, so she did what came naturally. Without warning, she threw her arms around Ichigo's stunned body and clung to him. He awkwardly patted her on the back with one hand, the other hanging even more awkwardly at his side. Realizing exactly what she _had_ been doing, Rukia broke apart from him rapidly, avoiding looking him in the eye.

"Erm... Sorry... I was... a little scared," she tried to explain, grateful for the darkness that hid her blush.

Ichigo remained silent for a moment, still a little stunned from her sudden outburst. "Um... that's, er, all right..."

"I, um, was wondering if I could sleep in here tonight," she asked, finally allowing herself to look at him and holding up her pillow as if to show him what she had originally come for.

He didn't answer right away. A blush Rukia couldn't see stained his cheeks as he misread her question in his tiredness. Part of him was pleased, the other incredibly nervous at the suggestion he believed her to be making. "Uh, okay," he said, grabbing her pillow and walking over to his bed before tossing it on. "Hop in."

Rukia didn't know what he was thinking, or what she should do, for that matter. Half of her wanted to punch him in the face and call him a fool, and half of her didn't want to lose the opportunity to be comforted. Without a word, she climbed into his bed and scooted to the far end. He hesitated a moment before crawling in after her.

They laid side by side in silence. Rukia still felt a little shooken up from the events of the night and longed for Ichigo's arms around her. She didn't know when, but somewhere in the time that they had known each other, she realized she got comfort from his touch, whether it be a hand on her shoulder, an arm holding her up by her stomach, or even a kick. She never was one for touches, but with Ichigo, it was different. His touch soothed her like no one else's could. She wanted that contact now, but she wasn't sure how to ask for it. Finally, she turned over on her side and looked at him. He met her gaze evenly, now wide awake.

"Hold me."

He obliged, not saying a word or mocking her at all, not even smirking. Rather, a smile graced his features as he wrapped his arms around her tiny figure and pulled her closer to him. Her knees bumped against his and her hands went up to touch his bicepts as he buried his head in her hair and breathed in deeply. Shivers ran up Rukia's spine, but she instantly felt calmer.

"Thank you, Ichigo," she whispered, snuggling into his embrace further.

"Yeah," he replied. There was a long pause before he spoke again. "Oi, Rukia..."

"Hmm?"

Ichigo pulled slightly away from her to look at her face. "I like this," he said, giving her a small smile.

She blushed and smiled back at him. "Well, get used to it."

Confused, he raised an eyebrow at her. "Get used to it? Why?"

"Because," she answered simply before leaning in and giving him a quick peck on the cheek. "I like it too." She paused before adding, "I like you."

Ichigo didn't give an answer at first, shocked at her confession. Then, without warning, he leaned in and their lips met.

Rukia almost flinched away in surprise, but eased into the kiss instead and, if it was possible, pulled him closer to her. He gently moved his lips in sync with hers, trying not to go any further then his lips on hers. He was a gentleman, holding her by her waist only and her arms wrapped around his neck. When they broke apart a moment later, both sets of eyes half-lidded, the smiled at each other.

"I didn't expect that," Ichigo said, chuckling and Rukia joined in after a second. She curled up closer to him and soon, they both fell alseep, still clutching the other to them.

_A/N: I know this is short, and sorry if it sucks. I tried! I wanted to make myself write for at least half an hour every day, and this is the result of today's work! Sorry to say that my writer's block isn't completely gone, but I'm fighting my way through it. Sometimes my mind works properly, sometimes it doesn't, and today was one of those days. I think it might be because all of the stories on here that I'm following have been updating and I just kept getting distracted. Not that I'm complaining! They're all SOO good, and I recommend them (if you can see which ones I'm following. If not, you can send me a PM asking if you're interested or just ask in your review!) Anyway, enough of my rambling!_

_And a fun fact: the thing that Rukia trips over in the beginning I was going to make Isshin's head, but then I couldn't figure out a reason for him to be there besides either 1) being drunk the night before and unable to make it to his room or 2) still being knocked out from one of his children's attacks, but I didn't really like either of these ideas._

_Thanks to my reviewers! 85 FREAKIN' REVIEWS! OH MY GOSH! Thank you all sooo much! I love you guys!_

**REVIEW! Or... something will happen... Ooh, ominous, no?**


	26. The Bet: Part II: First Date

_A/N: Part Two of The Bet._

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach. When I wish upon a star, that's what I wish for. Disney lies. Dreams do not come true.

THE BET: PART II: FIRST DATE

"Oi! Rukia! Are you ready yet?" Ichigo was standing at the bathroom door, practically banging it down. _Stupid Ishida and his stupid bet,_ Ichigo thought begrudgingly. He was waiting for his _girlfriend_ to finish getting ready so that they could leave for their _date_. It was the first of five required dates, and boy was Ichigo _not_ looking forward to it. He just wanted to get it over with as quickly as possible.

"Just a minute, tard!" he heard Rukia call through the door.

"Sheesh," he sighed. It wasn't as if they were going to a fancy restaurant or anything. They were just going to the movies and afterwards for some ice cream. She'd been in the bathroom for at least half an hour now, and Ichigo wanted to _go._ Just as he was about to bang on the door again, it flew open.

Rukia stood, fuming silently, in the doorway. Ichigo had to force his scowl on and his jaw up. She was wearing a short dress, shorter than normal; it came up to her mid-thigh. It was light blue with tiny white flowers all over it and very pretty. The sleeves were puffy and ruffled, and the neckline showed off her modest cleavage. She was also wearing dark blue flats that had tiny white bows on them. She was stunning. Not like Ichigo was going to tell her that.

Instead, he rolled his eyes, finding it harder to take his eyes off of her than he thought it would be. "Are you _finally_ ready?"

"You look nice, too, Ichigo," Rukia said sarcastically before elbowing him in the gut. As he doubled over in pain, she walked away, calling behind her, "C'mon, Ichi, I don't want to have to wait on you!"

Ichigo stood to his full length and followed her, grumbling something about "stupid deadly midgets." He caught up to her and took her hand in his, still grumbling under his breath. This was only their first date and second day of doing this. If this was how it was going to be, Ichigo might just want to give up the ten dollars.

As soon as they stepped on the bottom step, a camera flashed in front of their faces. Isshin stepped out from behind it, tears already in his eyes. "Oh, Masaki! Look at our son! On his first date! And with my third daughter, too! Oh, happy, happy day!" He turned his attention to Ichigo and Rukia again, snapping a couple more pictures. "Son! This is a momentus occasion! Let's do some poses, okay? All right, first, arms around each other."

Ichigo tried to pull away, but Rukia grabbed him by the collar and brought him back. They posed, Isshin took the picture, and then said, "Okay, next pose! Pucker up!"

"WHAT?" Ichigo screamed at the same time as Rukia pushed him away. "No!"

Isshin pouted. "What? My son? Why not? You're going to be making grandbabies soon, so a kiss should be no prob-"

WHACK.

"Come on, Rukia. Let's go." The both stepped over Isshin's sobbing figure and out the door.

"This is classy," Rukia muttered sarcastically under her breath.

Ichigo scowled but otherwise ignored her remark; it wasn't his fault he couldn't drive. Walking was the best he could do at the moment. He roughly grabbed her hand and pulled her up to his side.

"OW! Idiot! You're not supposed to injure your girlfriend on your first date!" Rukia complained.

"Ask my dad if that's true or not," Ichigo mumbled so that she couldn't hear.

"What was that, Ichigo?"

"I said I'm sorry and that I didn't mean to."

Rukia smiled, satisfied, and Ichigo did too. _Good, she bought it._

"Ichi...go? Rukia-chan?"

The pair stopped and slowly turned around, wishing that they imagined the voice they had just heard. But, no, of course not. There stood Keigo in a clump of bushes, staring at them as if he had just seen a ghost.

Wait...

"Why are you in the bushes?" Ichigo asked.

Keigo waved it off with his hand. "Just looking for babes," he said before turning his attention back to his own curiosity. "Why are you two here? Holding HANDS?"

Ichigo looked down at their entertwined fingers and shrugged. "We're dating," he said simply. No need for full-out explanations with Keigo; he'd only get the gist of it anyway.

"WHAT? Ichigo! I need to talk to you. _Privately_." With that, Keigo dragged the strawberry into the clump of bushes and knelt down, pushing the stubborn orange-headed teen down too. As soon as he was down to the burnette's level, Keigo burst into tears. "WHY DO YOU DO THIS TO YOUR FRIEND? ARE WE NOT THE BEST OF FRIENDS? AM I THE LAST TO KNOW? AND I THOUGHT WE DECIDED THAT I'D GET RUKIA-CHAN WHEN SHE MOVED HERE!"

Ichigo punched Keigo's chin before replying. "I never said that, idiot. And no, no one else from school except for Ishida, and probably Inoue by now, know, okay? Wait... if Inoue knows, Tatsuki probably knows now, which means that she probably told Chad, who would've told Miziuro... so yeah, you are the last to know. Sucks to be you."

Keigo's mouth hung in shock for a moment before he collapsed on the grassy floor and began to wail. "WHY SO CRUEL? WHY-Y-Y-Y?" As Ichigo attempted to step around him, however, he shot up, his fake tears abruptly ending. "SO! Where ya' going?"

"On a date," Ichigo informed him shortly.

"Ooohh! Where to?"

"The movies."

Keigo gasped in a mixture of surprise and excitement. "I'm going there, too! What are you two seeing?"

Ichigo ran a hand through his hair in exasperation. "Whatever you're not."

"So... cruel... why?" Keigo wimpered, his eyes tearing up again.

The carrot-top finally made it back to his date, who had until now been waiting patiently on the sidewalk. "Ready?" he asked, holding his hand out to her with a sigh.

She nodded and for the second time that evening, they set out. When they reached the movie theater, Ichigo pulled her to a stop. "Whaddya want to see?"

Rukia took a minute of looking over her options. There were a few chick flics that she could subject him to... but she didn't know if she wanted to see them either. There were two action movies out, one that looked completely ridiculous and another that actually looked okay, except that it was two and a half hours long. Finally, her eyes landed on one that instantly won her heart over. "That one," she said, pointing to the large poster on the wall.

Ichigo walked over, took one glance at it, and said, "No. No way in hell I'm seeing that."

"Then close your eyes," Rukia replied as she grabbed his hand again and led him inside to buy the tickets. She went to the counter and, after getting the attendant's attention, said, "Two for 'Chappy's Adventures in Space,' please."

With a look of either sympathy or disgust at Ichigo, the acne-ridden teen handed them the tickets and in return the substitute shinigami paid him. Lead by Rukia, they entered the building. In all honesty, Ichigo was in a sort of daze, not sure how, or rather, if he would survive the upcoming torture. "Want popcorn?" he asked Rukia stiffly. She nodded and he went to purchase it.

Before he knew it, he was sitting in the theater, Rukia's arm twisted through his, munching happily on popcorn as the horrendus excuse for a movie began. By the time it was over, Ichigo decided he either needed to gouge his eyes out or use the memory-wiping device Rukia sometimes used on their classmates. Yeah, it was that bad.

Rukia, on the other hand, had found her new favorite movie. She gleefully skipped out of the theater while humming the theme song of the film. Ichigo followed cautiously, as if he believed he'd soon be falling into a pit of Chappy bunnies that would attack him until he was either mauled to death or nearly there. The sad thing was, he actually was wary of this.

"Ice cream now?" Rukia chirped.

Ichigo shrugged in response and soon they were at the ice cream shop. Rukia, of course, ordered a strawberry milkshake, her new favorite, but Ichigo refrained from ordering anything. When the dark-haired shinigami asked why, he told her, "I don't think it'd stay down after that movie."

She kicked his feet from under him.

As they walked home, Ichigo held her hand again. "First date down. Four more to go. How are you holding up?" he asked, nudging Rukia in the side.

Said girl sipped her milkshake contentedly. "It was good. I think... if the dates are all like this, I wouldn't mind dating you for a while longer."

Ichigo didn't know whether to blush or kick her.

_A/N: I know! I'm a horrible person! I'm sorry! Two whole days without posting anything! That's not good. I realize that it probably isn't a big deal for most people, but there's actually a reason I try to update every day. If I don't, I think I'd probably forget to update and eventually just stop altogether. Anyway, I'm sorry, and I hoped you liked it! I didn't update due to a mix of the awful writer's block, distractions, and a slow computer that got on my nerves more than I care to say. I almost threw it out the window._

_The distractions were more of just one distraction. I've been reading _"The Hunger Games."_ Rereading, actually. They're REALLY good (except for the last few chapters of the last book, humph. That makes me mad. I don't wanna go into it.) I highly recommend them!_

_So The Bet part 2 is up! Part three will be up... sometime. Eventually!_

_And I WILL update tomorrow, even if it kills me! Although, if I do die, then I wouldn't really be able to update... Oh, well, you get the point._

_Thanks to all my reviewers! You guys are awesome, and if it weren't for you, it'd probably be a LOT more than 2 days without an update!_

**REVIEW! Tell me how horrible I am. :D**


	27. Enough

_A/N: Takes place in future of Bleach. No spoilers. ;D_

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach. Your Mom does, though. OOH, BURN!

ENOUGH

"Would you like some tea, Nii-sama?" Rukia asked, sitting down with the teapot.

"Yes, please, Rukia." Her brother also sat down and gratefully took the teacup she passed him before filling her own.

After setting down the teapot once again, she looked at her brother curiously. "Why did you need to see me, Nii-sama?"

Byakuya set down the tea he had been slowly sipping and searched her eyes. "I want to know if I made the right choice."

Rukia gave him a knowing smile. "Yes, you did."

The noble did not look convinced, especially as he looked around her home. It was small and homey, exactly the opposite of what her old home had been. It wasn't covered in lavish, expensive items, but rather in subtle, reassuring chaos. Well, it was reassuring to her, but to Byakuya, it was an alarm bell going off in his head. All the furniture seemed to be pre-used, the floors had a couple of stains on them, and there was clutter. His eyes found his sister's again.

"I would not mind paying for a maid for you," he informed her in his stoic manner, but she just smiled and shook her head.

"I like it like this, Nii-sama. It makes me happy."

"You're... happy?" he asked in disbelief. How could anyone be happy in a place like this? Sure, it wasn't nearly as bad as her first apartment was with _him_, but it was still... less extravagant than he was used to.

"Yes, Nii-sama, very much."

He strugged to keep his face expressionless as he asked his next question. "Even though you can't do your shinigami duties any more?"

"Even so," Rukia reassured him. "And I still get to sometimes, when he's home."

"Ah, yes. Him." Byakuya took a sip of his tea before continuing. "How is he?"

As much as he didn't want to admit it, Byakuya knew he saw his sister's face light up at the mention of her husband. "Ichigo's doing very well. He really enjoys his new job."

"What does he do, again?"

"He's a high school literature teacher," Rukia told him proudly. Byakuya nodded stiffly, but he was thinking about what an unsuitable position that was for his sister's husband. She deserved better.

"And you are still happy with him?" He wished she would say no and beg him to take her away. He missed her company and he couldn't bear to think of her here instead of where she could be living comfortably.

Rukia simply nodded, trying to surpress her smile with difficulty.

"He is enough for you?"

"He makes me laugh. Most days, that's enough," she told him, smiling dispite herself.

Byakuya looked at her carefully. "And when it's not?"

"He's there for me. He comforts me, he reminds me how much he loves me." She returned her brother's stare evenly. "He loves me a lot, Nii-sama."

Byakuya nodded. This much, he knew. But he wanted to make sure that she was happy. "It is not too late to leave him, if that is what you wish."

A flicker of anger flashed across Rukia's face, but she quickly made her face expressionless. "I do not wish anything of the sort, Nii-sama. I love him, too."

Although he had never approved of the boy, the noble had to give him credit. He did seem to make his sister happy. They sat in silence for a few moments before Rukia stood.

"They should be home soon. Would you like to stay and see them?"

Byakuya nodded. As much as he disliked the rude, arrogant boy his sister had chosen, he still enjoyed the other company the house came to possess.

A few minutes later, the door came open and a small girl with long, orange curls came bounding in the room. She stopped at the sight of Byakuya. "Uncle Bya? Hurray!" She pounced and landed on the stunned man's lap. He fought not to laugh as he gently patted her on the back.

"Masaki, get off of Uncle Byakuya before you strangle him, or scare him, to death." The voice was a man's and it came from the doorway. Byakuya raised his eyes to greet the sight of the man who had somehow stolen his sister's heart.

He still looked the same as he always did, spiky orange hair, tall, lean body, scowl set in place. But his eyes were sparkling now, and the scowl seemed less intimidating. He nodded at Byakuya as Masaki quickly got off of him. The noble nodded back slightly.

"Mama!" Masaki squealed as she ran to her mother's side and threw her arms around the woman.

"Hi, sweetie! How was school?" Byakuya noticed the light in her eyes that came with her daughter's presence.

Masaki smiled at her mother again. "It was real good! Kaien got in trouble again, though."

At this, Byakuya turned his eyes back to the doorway to see his nephew, head bowed, walk in. "It wasn't my fault," the boy grumbled. "Gorou started it."

"That's not what the teacher said, Kaien," Ichigo scolded softly. "You need to be careful about your temper."

If it had been anyone but Byakuya, he would've laughed. Ichigo? Scolding someone about keeping their temper? Ha!

"Come on, Kaien! Let's go play with Uncle Bya!" Masaki grabbed her twin and her uncle's arm and dragged them both to the backyard.

When they thought no one was watching, Byakuya saw the two parents wrap their arms around each other and share a tender moment of kisses. Ichigo brushed hair behind Rukia's ear and the noble saw his lips move in a question but couldn't hear what he said. Rukia shook her head and buried her face in his chest. When she lifted her head to meet Ichigo's gaze again, Byakuya saw that she was smiling. Ichigo said something again, and Rukia burst out in laughter, wrapping her arms more closely around him.

She was right. He did make her happy, and that was enough. For all of them.

_A/N: Hurray! I did it! :D Pretty short, but oh, well._

_Thanks to all of my reviewers! I love you guys! :D More than you'll ever know!_

**REVIEW! Byakuya will make a surprise visit to your house if you don't... But it won't be cool at all! ...**


	28. Lost

_A/N: Takes place whenever. No spoilers. Could be AU if you really wanted it to be! ;)_

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach. I am thinking of buying a fish and naming it Bleach so that I can say that I own BLEACH! Hurray! That would make my soul happy.

LOST

"It's this way, I'm sure of it."

Ichigo sighed. "Rukia, you've said that about the past four 'ways' and we haven't gotten to where we're supposed to be. We're just going in circles."

"Actually," Rukia said matter-of-factly, "we've been taking more 90 degree turns than a circular motion."

Ichigo rolled his eyes. "Fine, we're going in _squares._ The point is that we're not going anywhere."

"But this is the way, I know it is!"

"Rukia, it's not."

"Fine, then. You're the _native,_ you tell me how to find our way back," Rukia huffed, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Truth is, I don't know," Ichigo admitted. "I say that we stop for the night."

"Strawberry, I'm not going to just sleep on the grass. No Kuchiki would ever bend so low."

"Idiot, I meant at a hotel."

"...Oh." Rukia stuck her nose in the air and tried to ignore the fact that her cheeks were flushed red. "That would be acceptable. Do you have money with you?"

Ichigo held out a small plastic card and smirked. "Yep, curtisy of Kurosaki Isshin."

"Ichigo! Did you steal that from your father?" Rukia reached out and grabbed the card from his hand and peered at it.

"Midget! Give that back!" The orange-haired man tried to grab it back, but Rukia stretched out her arm just out of his reach. As he lunged for it (which was probably _not_ the best idea, seeing as he was driving), the petite girl held it out the window.

"HA!" she exclaimed before feeling the wind whip the card out of her hand. Her smile fell and she turned to Ichigo with guilty wide eyes. "Uh, Ichi...go?"

Said man rubbed his forehead in exasperation. "What did you do now?"

"...I, uh... dropped it..."

"WHAT?" Ichigo yelled, slamming on the brakes, causing both of them to fly forward, caught by their seatbelts.

Rukia looked at him timidly. "I'm sorry..."

Fuming, Ichigo pulled over and parked the car, turning on the hazards before jumping out and running a few hundred feet away. "Is this where you dropped it?" he yelled behind him.

"I... I don't know, I wasn't looking out the window..." Rukia felt horrible. She had been trying to save Isshin's bank account, not lose it. Well, technically, she _did_ save him about $500 dollars that would've been spent on a nice, comfortable, lavish hotel room that she would've slept wonderously in... Great. Now she felt worse.

After searching for a half an hour in vain, Ichigo finally gave up and went back to the car, a miserable Rukia trailing after him. He didn't speak to her as he climbed back into the car and slammed the door closed. Rukia did the same, minus the slamming part and sat guiltily in her seat. Ichigo shifted back into drive and drove all of ten feet before it sputtered and stopped. He groaned and smacked his head on the steering wheel a few times before getting out of the car.

Rukia didn't know what was going on, but she was afraid to ask. Still, maybe she could help. She too got out and walked over to Ichigo who was rummaging through things in the trunk. "What happened?" she asked quietly.

"We ran out of gas, DAMMIT!" he screamed as he slammed the trunk shut. "And there's none back here, either! This is SHIT!" He began kicking the tire relentlessly before Rukia reached out and tapped him on the arm.

"Ichigo, it's okay. Do you have your phone?" The carrot top stopped mid-kick and looked at her like she was a genius. "Of course!" He reached deep in his pocket and pulled out the small device, kissed it, and flipped it open. He walked away about ten feet mumbling to himself. "Dad'll still be up this late; he's probably playing 'Dance, Dance Revolution,' or something stupid like that." He dialed the number and waited for an answer on the other side.

_"HELLO! THIS IS KUROSAKI ISSHIN!"_

"Hi, Dad. It's Ichigo."

_"ICHIGOOOOOOO! Did you call to tell me you love me? Aw, such a loving son! I love you too, my boy! Are you and my third daughter having fun at the wild party you went to? Are you making me grandbabies?"_

Ichigo just decided to ignore the comment for now; he'd punch him later. "No, actually, we never made it. We got lost and now we're out of gas and stranded on the side of the road. Help us?"

_"Ha, ha, son! It's okay, you don't need an excuse to stay out all night with Rukia-chan! I understand teenage hormones."_

"DAD! THIS IS NOT ON PUROPSE!"

_"Sure, sure, son. Listen, I'm on Dance, Dance right now, and I'm about... to... beat my high score!"_ Isshin said in a breathless tone. _"I'll come get you in the morning if you're still 'lost,' okay?" _Ichigo could _hear_ the quotation marks around "lost" in his voice. _"Okay, then! See you tomorrow! HAVE FUN! MAKE LOTS OF GRANDBABIES! USE PROTECTION!"_

For some reason, the thing that came out of Ichigo's mouth was not a denial of what his father was suggesting, but rather, "You know we couldn't do both!" He heard the *click* of his father hanging up, but not before the chuckle he let lose. _Shit,_ Ichigo thought. He flipped the phone open again and hit redial. And waited. And waited... and waited. No answer. Sighing, Ichigo turned back to the car and got in the driver's seat.

Rukia, completely oblivious to what was happening, got in her respective seat and watched Ichigo as he leaned the seat back and tried to get comfortable. "What are you doing?"

He opened one eye to look at her before closing it again and shifting slightly, another attempt at feeling comfortable. "Might as well settle in. It's gonna be a long night."

"What? What about your dad?"

"He's not coming," Ichigo said simply.

"What? Why not?"

Ichigo sighed and looked at her. "I explained the circumstances. Think about it. My dad." Realization dawned on Rukia's face. "Yeah."

She sat in silence for a minute before speaking again, startling Ichigo. "Can't we call anyone else?"

"Rukia," he said, rolling his eyes. "It's 2 am! Who's awake except for goat-face?"

_He had a point there,_ the petite girl thought. She crossed her arms indignitely. "Well, I am not sleeping in a cramped little car like this all night."

Ichigo just shrugged. "Fine. Sleep in the grass where all the wild animals can either eat you or shit all over you."

Rukia growled, but settled down into her seat. Ichigo smirked, opening one eye to take in her petite frame. "Good night, midget."

The girl didn't turn to face him, just twisted her arm around to show off her middle finger for him. He chuckled lightly before closing his eyes again and drifting off to sleep.

* * *

><p>Rukia woke shivering, goosebumps covering every inch of her skin and her teeth chattering. She turned to look at Ichigo's sleeping form and for a moment wondered if she should wake him or not, but eventually decided against it. Instead, she simply crawled over and curled up beside him, wrapping his warm arms around her waist. With his extra body heat radiating against her, she soon fell back asleep.<p>

* * *

><p>A knock on the window startled Ichigo awake. He rubbed his eyes sleepily, realizing that his arms were around Rukia... how had that happened? He turned his foggy eyes to see his father standing outside of the car. In one fluid motion, he was as far from Rukia as possible, flinging the door open, and turning to face his father, his cheeks a blaring red.<p>

Isshin, however, was grinning like a madman. "Grandbabies?"

Ichigo punched him in the jaw. "Not on your life, old man."

"So, how was your rebelious night alone with my third daughter?" Isshin asked, rubbing his new sore.

"Uneventful," Ichigo said pointedly, hoping his father would get the hint.

He didn't. "Sure, son, sure. Like I'd believe _that._" Isshin laughed. "You're about 100 feet away from the house with the party! Yeah, right, 'Oh, Daddy, we're lost we can't get home, blah, blah, blah!'" Isshin let out another peal of laughter, but Ichigo's face turned to where he was pointing. Sure enough, there was the house they had spent countless hours trying to find.

"YOU GOTTA BE FREAKIN' KIDDING ME!"

_A/N: ...Yup... xD_

_So I literally sat in front of the computer for about 20 minutes with nothing happening. Then, I shook myself and shouted "WRITE! NOW!" and started to write... and this came out. :) Hope you like it._

_Sorry for getting it out late, too. Didn't get home till 9:30, and I sprained my ankle, so it took a while to get upstairs, haha. But then I posted Alphabet Soup's new chapter, which I had written, and then I had to write this... Ugh._

_I think that I'm going to start replying to reviews in my stories instead of once a week since sometimes I lose track of what I've already replied to, plus it's ten times easier and you guys don't have to wait a week to hear back from me. I keep getting anonymus reviews, too (which is still awesome!) so then I could reply to them. You can always PM me if you wanna reply to something I replied to... or if you just wanna say something, that's cool, too! :D haha. Anyways..._

_THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH! *Has a party* 105 FREAKIN' REVIEWS! YOU GUYS ARE THE COOLEST! xD_

_...I love you so much..._

_(*sweatdrop from all readers, haha*)_

_Anyway, keep it up! I really appreciate all the reviews, and it DOES motivate me to write! Like today, I was just going to forget it and not post anything because I was just feeling so... unmotivated, but then I got a review that made me laugh and smile and feel all warm and fuzzy inside, so I said, "HELL YA I'MMA POST TODAY!" So... yeah. This is the result._

_Also, I would just like to add that sometimes I change kid's names in my one-shots from Kaien, Hisana, Masaki, etc. because I feel like I use it too often, but then I got a lot of reviews telling me not to do that anymore, so I just decided to go with it and keep it the way we all think it should be. :) Just thought I'd share that with you all. :)_

_Oh, fun fact! I was stuck between two different things in two different places for this story: 1) Isshin not answering his phone and having a little POV from him about why he wasn't and what he was doing vs. answering the phone and 2) Either Dance, Dance Revolution or posting embarrassing messages on his children's walls on facebook. ...Both seemed like him, but I chose Dance, Dance. :)_

_So, before this author's note gets longer than the story itself... bye!_

**REVIEW! Or I'll make sure you get stranded with only the most obnoxious person in the WOLRD (or any other) to save you!**


	29. Independence Day

_A/N: Takes place after Ichigo and Rukia FINALLY GET TOGETHER (hint, hint, Kubo). You can decide where they stand in their relationship, but they have moved in together at least. :) No spoilers._

Disclaimer: I do not own the wonderous Bleach. Sadly. Oh, many are the woes of me. ;)

INDEPENDENCE DAY

"Rukia! I have a surprise!" Ichigo called, closing the door to their apartment behind him with his foot. He could hear Rukia running down the hall, but when she turned the corner, she was only walking. Ichigo smirked; she tried to seem nonchalant, but he knew she was happy he was home.

"Hey, idiot." Rukia grinned, stopping at the doorway across from him.

"Hi," Ichigo grinned back and made his way to her and kissing her forehead. She cupped his face and pulled him down for a more passionate kiss and got one. Her arms wrapped around his neck to pull herself closer to him as he dropped the bags in his hands and used them to steady her against him. Ichigo smiled into the kiss and mumbled, "I missed you." He could feel her smile back, but she just playfully smacked him on the head, not pulling away.

"Baka. You were only gone for work." After a moment of kissing him more deeply, she said, "I missed you too." She let out a squeal as Ichigo picked her up bridal-style, one arm underneath her knees, the other around her back. He chuckled, still not breaking the kiss, and whisked her off to the couch. Once they were there, he threw her down and she giggled. When he didn't follow her, she lifted an eyebrow. "What is it?"

"I got a surprise," Ichigo said, his grin growing (if that was possible). "From work. A business trip."

Rukia's smile faltered slightly, but she forced it back on. "That's great, Ichigo. Where to?"

"The U.S."

Then she asked the question she was more concerned with. "How long?" She switched her gaze to the hem of her shirt and plucked away at it, afraid that if she met his gaze he could see how much she didn't want him to go.

"A week," he told her softly.

"Oh." Then, "When?"

"Next week."

This time she just nodded, trying and failing to hide her disappointment.

"So? Aren't you excited?"

Rukia plastered a huge, fake smile on her face and looked up at him, but there was sadness etched in her eyes. "Yeah! That's great! Good job!"

Ichigo grinned back at her, his smile real. "We leave Saturday."

A moment of silence passed before what he had just said registered. "We?" Her expression was confused.

Nodding, Ichigo brought out the two plane tickets his company had provided. Rukia squealed and ran to him, jumping in his open arms. He swung her around the room, both of them laughing.

"So you'll go?" he asked.

She, in turn, smacked his arm. "Baka! Of course I'll go!"

"Good."

_Saturday..._

Ichigo sighed and impatiently looked down at his watch. "Rukia! We're going to miss our flight if we don't leave now!"

From down the hall he heard her yell back, "I'm coming!" She ran out to the front door, suitcase in tow. Her hair was slightly disshevled but her eyes glowed with excitement. She'd never been on a plane before, let alone to another country. Other worlds, sure. But she'd barely seen this one.

"Ready?" Ichigo asked with a smirk.

She nodded. "Yeah, let's go."

_Sunday..._

The plane touched down _finally_ in California, but they had to take a connecting flight to New York, where they'd be staying. By the time they landed, both of them were exhausted simply because they couldn't sleep very well on the plane; they weren't in first class, and coach was uncomfortable as hell. Not that Rukia would've slept much anyway. She was too fascinated by watching out the window as they flew over oceans and towns. "Everything's so _tiny,_" she had said. Ichigo just grunted in reply; he, for one, wanted to sleep.

When they got to the airport, they shuffled through the crowds to get to a taxi. Luckily, both of them knew English fairly well, so it wasn't too difficult to find their hotel. The went straight to their room as soon as they got there, they collapsed on the king-sized, fluffy, magnificent, wonderful, comfortable... -you get the picture- bed. Ichigo groaned and rolled over to nuzzle against Rukia.

"I wanted to take you out and show you the city our first day, but I'm just so tired!" he complained in a mumble.

She ruffled his hair and smiled. "It's okay, I'm tired, too." She rolled onto her side and put an arm around him, curling up next to him. "Sleep now, tomorrow we'll see the city, okay?"

"Deal," he said into her hair, and soon they both fell asleep.

_Monday..._

"Ichigo?" Rukia mumbled as she sleepily rolled over to find the other side of the still-made bed empty. She glanced at the digital clock across the room. 5:30 am. They had slept all night, or at least she had, and they were still in their plane-clothes. Blushing slightly, Rukia pulled down her dress that had ridden up in her sleep. She sat up, rubbing her eyes of sleep, and staggered to the bathroom.

After showering, she donned a pretty little pink sundress and went back out to the bed. While she was checking her email on Ichigo's laptop, the orange-haired shinigami walked back into the room, breakfast in tow. When he saw her, a soft smile spread across his face.

"Hey," he said, setting the meal on the bed before climbing over on top of her and kissing her softly. He flopped over to her other side and handed her a plate of pancakes. "For you."

"Thanks, Strawberry."

"No problem, Midget."

_Thursday..._

The past few days had been mostly filled with sightseeing and, well, kissing. Today, however, was going to be different. Ichigo's company had paid for a vacation for them the week of July 4th, the U.S.'s Independence Day, which happened to fall on Thursday. They had to leave tomorrow, but if Ichigo had heard right, the fourth of July was like a big party all day in New York. Parades, street vendors, and _fireworks._

They started out the day watching a parade full of floats, huge balloons, and lots of candy (thrown mostly at Rukia, as she looked like a child still). For lunch, they had a picnic in Central Park. Ichigo fed Rukia strawberries and she smushed cake in his face. It was a fun day.

That night, they went to the rooftop of their hotel (as well as several other guests) to watch the fireworks. Ichigo held Rukia in his arms and she intertwined their fingers and leaned into him. He kissed her hair softly as the firework show began.

Rukia was amazed; there were so many lights, explosions, really, blowing up in the sky! She'd seen fireworks before, but none ever this extravegant. Her breath was taken away, her eyes wide, at each blast.

When the grand finale came, Ichigo held her more tightly and she gasped at every light in the darkness. It was beautiful. The people all around them beginning to stand up and stretch was their cue that the show was over. Ichigo stood and offered his hand to Rukia, which she took, and pulled her up to him. She smiled widely at him before kissing his nose softly.

"Thanks, Ichigo. It was amazing," she whispered, leaning her head to his chest and wrapping her arms around his waist.

He did the same to her before whispering, "You're welcome." They stayed in that position for a little while longer before pulling apart, Ichigo holding out a hand to her and leading her back to their room.

As they snuggled in for the night, Ichigo's arms around Rukia, her back to his chest, Ichigo breathed in her hair, "Are you glad you came?"

She smiled softly, her eyes beginning to feel heavy. "Baka, of course I am."

Ichigo tenderly brushed her hair off of her face and placed a soft peck on her cheek. "Good, because it'd've been really boring without you."

"Why's that?"

The daiko rolled his eyes before answering. "Because I love you, idiot."

Rukia turned her head to touch her lips to his for a slow but tender kiss. "I love you, too, moron."

_A/N: Yupppp... SO I completely suck. I don't necessarily mean at writing (I mean, you lot seem to like me), but I suck at getting these up in a timely fashion any more. Well, I guess I've still been doing one a day, but still. Today I was just busy with work and family stuff, so yeah. I also suck at replying to reviews! I _swear_ I will do it tomorrow since I barely have anything going on tomorrow! SORRY! :(_

_OH! HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY TO ALL OF YOU UNITED STATESIANS! And to all of you from other countries, I still wish you a happy fourth. I mean, even if it isn't your Independence day, it's still the fourth of July. Just make it awesome... er, well, I hope it _was_ awesome. :)_

_Yeah, I am also sorry about the lack of length in this. I could lie and say that I didn't want to add stupid, filler stuff, but mostly it was just because I was lazy and uncreative. :) At the beginning, I actually planned on doing a small look at every day of the week... but, like I said, I'm lazy. Sorry, haha._

_Well, I'll see you all tomorrow!_

_Oh, but before I forget, I was wondering about your opinion on something... I've started writing an AU story, and I was wondering how many of you would actually be interested in reading it? I have about 1 and a half chapters done as of right now, and I really like the first chapter. The second is getting there. But I was just wondering if you'd be interested. So let me know in your review!_

_Speaking of reviews..._

**REVIEW! Or I will give Isshin some fireworks and tell him where you live. That way, he can blow up your house for sure. Haha. HAPPY FORUTH AGAIN!**


	30. Don't Cry

_A/N: No spoilers. :) Hope you like it!_

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach. Do you think if I begged hard enough Kubo Tite would just give it to me?

DON'T CRY

She stood in the doorway, her face looking like she was about to cry. "Rukia?" She let out a small squeak in response as a single tear drop ran down her cheek. Her nose and the rims of her eyes were red and puffy, almost as if she had already been crying. Ichigo was taken aback at seeing this strong woman showing this much emotion. He didn't know what to do other than comfort her.

"Rukia, come here," Ichigo said, holding his arms out to her. She fell into them, sobbing loudly and erratically. He brushed her hair back tenderly and held her tight, her head buried in his chest. Tears began to soak through, but he didn't care. She was hurting, and he would be there for her no matter what. Normally he wouldn't show his compassionate side, but this was different. Rukia needed someone now, he didn't know why, but she did. It almost scared him; he had never seen her cry before. He had no idea what could possibly have this effect on her.

She pulled back slightly, her bottom lip quivering and her eyes still glistening with tears. A few stray droplets were wiped away by the pad of Ichigo's thumb as he smiled down at her gently. "It's okay, Rukia. It'll be okay," he assured her, not quite knowing what he was reassuring her about. She nodded, though, and choked down some more tears. Throwing her arms around his neck she took in a few deep but shaky breaths.

"Th-thanks, Ichigo," she whispered, her voice still waivering a bit.

He stroked her hair and hugged her back. "Shh... It's all right. Don't cry."

Rukia broke apart from him to look him in the eye. Her own eyes held so much remorse it made him want to crush her back to him, but he restrained himself as she opened her mouth to speak. "No, thank you. I... I really appreciate it."

He nodded, feeling a lump grow in his throat. This time, he couldn't help it when he pulled her back close, his arms wrapping around her tightly. She began to cry again, but it was a steady stream this time, and more quiet. They sat that way for what seemed like forever before Ichigo pulled her back and wiped her tears.

"Hey, look at me," he said softly, cupping her chin to bring her head to his level. "I don't know what's wrong, and I'm not going to make you tell me, but what I do know is that you can get past it. You're the strongest, bravest, most stubborn person I've ever met, and you can deal with anything, okay?"

Rukia shook her head sadly. "N-not this," she said, some more tears pouring down her face.

Ichigo grabbed her shoulders and shook her gently. "Yes, you can. And I'm here if you need me or want me. Okay? Don't ever forget that."

Her indigo eyes widened as she looked up at him. She continued to cry softly, but without a second's notice, she crushed her lips to his.

He was taken aback but pleased. A second later, he wondered if maybe she was only doing this for comfort, but the thought quickly fell out of his head when her lips parted and she whispered his name. He wrapped his arms around his waist and pulled her to him more closely and at the same time deepened the kiss, slowly and cautiously pushing his tongue into her mouth to caress the inside of her cheek first. She swooned at the motion and clutched him tighter, her hands getting tangled in his wild orange only seperated for necessary breaths of air, keeping their lips together otherwise. Finally, they pulled apart, smiling, and looked each other in the eye.

"Well, that was... interesting," Ichigo said with a small chuckle.

Rukia's brow furrowed in confusion. "But it was good... right?"

In an answer, he soflty placed his lips to hers again. "Yeah," he said once he had pulled back. "It was really good."

She smiled shyly and gave him another hug. "Good."

Once she pulled out of the hug, she stood up. "Thank you, Ichigo, for cheering me up." She leaned down to place a quick peck on his lips. "It was the best way to be cheered up I've ever experienced," she said with a smile. He smiled back at her and she turned to walk out of his room. Before she could take more than a step, however, Ichigo reached out and grabbed her wrist.

She turned, surprised, back to him. "What is it, Ichigo?"

"We're together now, right?" he asked, still uncertain if the events that had just taken place were that of importance or just an abundance of hormones and emotions.

She smiled at him. "Only if you wanna be."

Ichigo returned her grin. "Yeah, I do," he said quietly. He could feel his heart elating immensly. He let his hand slip from her wrist and she turned again to walk out the door.

When she was about to walk out, Ichigo called out to her, "Oi, Rukia!"

"What?"

"Why were you so upset in the first place?" he asked. Then, "If you don't mind telling me, I mean."

Rukia looked to the floor, fighting back the tears that were threatening to make another appearance. "Uh, well..."

She was quiet for a long minute of pregnant pause before Ichigo spoke again. "It's okay, you don't have to tell me." Dispite his words, he couldn't help but feel a little disappointed. He was hoping she'd be more open with him now that they were an "item."

"No, I wanna tell you," she said defiantly, shaking her head clear. She walked back over to him and sat beside him, looking at her hands that rested in her lap. "Well... You see, I was... well... Oh, it's just so horrible!" She threw her face back into her hands and Ichigo rubbed her back gently.

"What is it?" he asked again, trying to coax an answer out of her as gently as he possibly could.

"Ch-Ch-Chappy's been cancelled!" she said before she began to wail again.

Ichigo ripped his hand from its position on her back. "Are you serious right now?" Rukia nodded her head sadly through her tears and leaned into him again, but he stood up and pointed down accusingly at her. "You had better be freaking kidding me!"

_A/N: So a little sappy, a little fluffy, and a little ridiculous. xD All I have to say is: Rukia would._

_I know it's short, sorry about that!_

_Starting tomorrow the new reply-to-reviews thing will be different, so make sure to read for a reply to your comments! Because I freaking love you guys and love talking to you and hearing your feedback. I'm just quite possibly the laziest person in the world. :)_

_If you have any suggestions, requests, or anything, please let me know, because honestly, I think my muse has left for vacation for a long time, and I need help! xP I will keep pressing on, I just hope my writing hasn't decreased in quality since it's packed its bags and taken off._

_As always..._

**REVIEW! Or I'll cancel YOUR favorite t.v. show! (Unless it's one of my favorites, too.)**


	31. Spreading Rumors

_A/N: Takes place once the Substitute Gang is out of high school for x amount of years. No spoilers. Enjoy! (Don't forget to review!)_

Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach... yet. MUAH HA HA HA!

SPREADING RUMORS

"I promised I wouldn't tell anyone, but I guess I could trust you," Inoue nervously laughed and scratched the back of her neck. Tatsuki was pressuring her to tell the secret that she had discovered after a long talk with Ichigo.

"Well? What is it?"

Inoue huffed. Tatsuki should know better than to press her like this. It made her nervous, extremely nervous. "I don't know..."

"Orihime, listen to me." The black-haired girl turned Inoue to look at her seriously. "I need to know why you're upset. I need to know if I need to beat the bastard up. Okay? Just tell me."

Inoue looked down at her feet before looking back up to her best friend. "Okay, I'll tell you. _IF,_ and only if, you promise not to tell anyone else, okay?"

"Deal."

"Okay, so... I told Kurosaki-kun about how I felt-feel- about him, and he was really nice about it. At first I thought he was going to die of shock," she thought, her fingers stroking her chin. She let out a giggle. "He got as red as a tomato! It was really funny. He looked like he was about to faint..."

Tatsuki shook her friend out of her trance. "We all know Ichigo is oblivious to girls, let's move on, okay? Tell me what he told you."

Inoue nodded. "Right. After the funny part, he took my hand," at this she turned pink with embarrassment, "and looked me in the eyes and told me... told me that he didn't feel the same way." She looked down at her shoes again as she fought back tears.

Tatsuki stomped her foot. "That son of a bitch!"

"Tatsuki! It's not like that!" Inoue protested, waving her hands around dramatically. "He was really nice about it. He told me... he told me that I was a really nice, beautiful girl and he really liked having me as a friend, but that he was... well, he told me that he was already _in love_ with someone else."

About to slam her foot down in anger again, Tatsuki let Inoue's words seep in... "In... in _LOVE?_" she shouted, completely caught off guard. "With _WHO?"_

Inoue giggled at the sight of her friend's face. "You look almost as funny as Kurosaki-kun did!"

"Orihime, who? Did he tell you?"

The orange-haired girl couldn't look her friend in the eyes. "N-no, he d-didn't."

"You know, you're a really horribe liar," Tatsuki said as she crossed her arms over her chest.

Inoue sighed. "All right, yes, he told me. But he asked me not to tell anyone else! And if I ever want to get a chance with him... I can't betray his confidence!"

Putting a hand gently on Inoue's shoulders, Tatsuki gave her a half smile. "Orihime... if he's in love... maybe it's time that you, you know, move on?"

Inoue nodded sadly. "I know," she whispered.

"Who?"

Inoue looked deep into her best friend's eyes for a moment. She knew that the karate champion wasn't trying to pressure her; she was trying to protect her. She was trying to help her move on. _But it's so hard,_ Inoue thought as she fought back the tears once again. _I love him so much!_ She swallowed these thoughts along with her tears and looked back up to Tatsuki. Without another thought, she whispered two words. "Kuchiki Rukia."

* * *

><p>"It's just so... so... so STUPID!" Tatsuki fumed as Renji sat on her bed quietly, waiting for her to get it all out of her system. "I mean, she's loved him for <em>years,<em> and he can't've simply not even _noticed,_ it's not like she was very secretive about it!"

"Well, Ichigo is pretty clueles-"

"And then when she _finally_ gets the courage to admit it to him, he goes and tells her that he's in love with someone else! Ichigo! IN LOVE! What the FUCK?"

Renji sighed as his girlfriend continued to pace the room. He honestly just wanted this whole thing to be _over._ As quickly as possible. Which meant being silent for her rant.

"I honestly thought that they would get together and get married and be happy together, after she took some cooking classes, of course, but I mean, Ichigo? Falling in love? I never thought I'd see that happen unless the girl whacked him in the head with an official 'book of love' or gave him a love potion or something!" She paused for a breath, but a moment later barrelled on. "At least Orihime was open about it! I thought, 'Maybe he'll notice her; she's beautiful, busty, and the sweetest girl ever. Plus, she's head over heels for him.' But NOO! Of course not!" She kicked her headboard and a second later clutched her foot in her hand. "FUCK! And it just _had_ to be Kuchiki Rukia! Someone he's only known for-" she let out a gasp and slapped her hand to her mouth. Slowly turning to Renji, she hoped that he hadn't caught her slip.

His wide eyes and unhinged mouth told her otherwise.

"R-Rukia?" he asked hoaresly.

"You can't tell anyone, okay?" she pleaded anxiously, running to his side and waving her arms about.

He swallowed a few more times, trying and failing to regain some of the moisture in his mouth. "Uh... I won't."

Tatsuki let out a sigh of relief. "Thanks, Renji," she said before giving him a peck on his trembling lips.

* * *

><p>Renji had to get it off his chest. Had to, but couldn't, because he'd promised. So he did the only thing he <em>could<em> do: go to Soul Society and tell someone he could trust there. No one would know Ichigo enough there to care to spread the rumor far enough to the human world for anyone there to hear about it, and both the idiot Strawberry and Rukia were stationed there and wouldn't come back except for emergency meetings. The question was who to tell?

He mentally went through the people in Seireti he knew and trusted. Kuchiki Byakuya... _No, he'd kill Ichigo in a heartbeat. Plus, he's not exactly the confession-friendly type._ Ikkaku... _No way, he's too 'manly' and won't understand what I'm going through..._ Yumichika..._ No... he'd think it's too 'beautiful' to keep a secret and want to tell Rukia right away._ Finally, his mind rested on Matsumoto. _She's a girl, so she gets the deep feeling stuff, and she respects secrets enough... I think._

Whether she did or not, by that point, Renji didn't really care. He just had to get it all out of his system. When he found the taicho-fuku, he asked her if he could privately speak to her for a moment. She nodded and smiled softly; she could tell this was a serious situation. She'd never really known Renji too well, but they'd always been friendly.

She sat, her arms crossed over her overly-abundant chest and waited for him to start talking. This time, it was Renji's turn to rant, but he chose a quieter approach. He sat across from her and watched his fingers fiddle with a small silver coin he had found on the road.

"Ichigo's in love with Rukia," he whispered all at once. He allowed him a glance at her face. She looked shocked and pleasantly surprised.

"Oh, really?" she asked, trying to contain her enthusiasm at the news. _Wait till everyone hears about this!_

"You can't tell anyone," he told her hurridly, snapping his whole head to look at her.

She pouted, but the look on his face convinced her. "Oh, all right. Is that all you wanted to share or is there more?"

"There's more," the redhead said before turning his gaze back down to his fingers. "It's weird... I got over Rukia a long time ago but can't... I still can't let her go. I still don't want her to be with anyone else."

Matsumoto smiled at him, even though he wasn't looking at her. "I know. It's because she was your first love," she told him softly. He nodded in return.

"Yeah, that's what I've been thinking. But," he added, looking back up to meet her eyes, "the thing is that I don't even think they'll get together any time soon. She isn't the type to let her feelings known unless she knows they're returned, and I think Ichigo is the same way."

Matsumoto raised an eyebrow. "She loves him, too?"

Renji nodded. "I can tell. I've known her since we were kids. I don't know if anyone else can sense it or even if she knows it herself, but I can see it in her eyes."

The busty blonde nodded. "I understand," she said. "I think that... I think it'll just be something you have to work on, letting her go." She smiled at him again. "Your first love is never easy to say goodbye to," she whispered, half to herself and half to him.

"Thanks, Rangiku-san." He stood and walked to the door, but before he left the room, he turned back to her and added, "Remember not to tell anyone."

"I won't."

* * *

><p>The music was pumping loudly from Inoue's house and several people walked warily by her untouched cookies. Most everyone in the room was having a good time; Renji and Tatsuki were "dancing," Ishida was bobbing his head to the music, Ichigo sat, scowling, in the corner, but it was evident he was having a pleasant time, Rukia was playing an intense game of "Go Fish" with Inoue, Keigo and Mizurio were working the girls in the room, most of which were from Soul Society and couldn't care less about them, Ikkaku and Yumichika were also dancing, Toshiro was standing by the door with his arms crossed, and Matsumoto was taking yet another swing from a flask she had brought along with her. Several other Soul Society members and old friends from high school were there, too, mostly dancing or playing games or eating the dishes Inoue <em>hadn't<em> prepared.

Matsumoto cheered loudly; she was completely wasted. She walked over to Hisagi and slung an arm over his shoulder. "Hey, there, handsome," she giggled madly and pressed up further against him. He awkwardly tried to push her away, but she just snaked another arm around his shoulder. "You wanna see sometin' cool?" She hiccuped and giggled again.

"Uh, no, Matsumoto-dono. Thanks, though," he said, still trying to scoot away, but she just dragged him back into the "embrace" of her two... assets.

She pouted as he again tried to push her away. "Aw, c'mon, Hisagi! We're all (hiccup) friends here!" She looked him up and down suggestively and giggled again. "I'll show you mine," she gestured to her two large breasts, "if you show me yours," she pointed to his pant zipper. He used every force he had left in him to shove her away, appauled at her suggestion, but she turned from flirty to furious. "What the hell, Hisagi! Why can't we have fun? It's not fair," she pouted. "Everyone is with someone now but me! Tatsuki and Renji... uh... and, um... Ichigo loves Rukia and she loves him back! Why can't I have a little love?"

She didn't notice she was yelling until everyone went dead silent. Even the music seemed to be shut off. She put a hand to her chin and giggled. "Oops," she said before passing out head first on the floor.

Everyone turned to look at Ichigo, then at Rukia, then at Ichigo again. The Strawberry was as red as his namesake, and Rukia wasn't too far behind. They refused to look at each other, and instead stared disbelievingly at the blonde woman's head. Every eye in the room (that wasn't currently closed) was on the pair and they felt time stand still. Ichigo gulped and allowed himself a glance around the room, finally resting his eyes on Rukia. She, in return, turned to look at him, drawn by the power of his gaze. As they looked in each other's eyes, they knew it was the truth. A small smile leaked onto Rukia's face and was returned by Ichigo's own upturn of lips.

Their eyes were still locked when Ikkaku let out a loud laugh and yelled out, "HA! Matsumoto is so drunk she actually suggested that these two...!" he trailed off, but everyone else got the picture, figuring it was a joke. The talking began again, the music was turned back on, and activities resumed, but Ichigo and Rukia didn't let their eyes stray from each other.

* * *

><p>"Thanks for coming, Kurosaki-kun, Kuchiki-san!" Inoue yelled out the door after them, waving her arm off and smiling hugely.<p>

"See ya, Inoue!" Ichigo yelled over his shoulder, also waving. Rukia did the same and then fell into step beside Ichigo. They both remained silent for a good two or so minutes before Ichigo cleared his throat. "So..."

Rukia raised an eyebrow. "So...?" She grinned at him slyly after another moment of silence. "So you're in love with me, huh?" She laughed at his bright red blush as he forced his eyes to stay trained on the distant house ahead.

"I could ask you the same thing," he answered, refusing to answer her question.

She smirked and looked forward. He let his eyes dart over to her for a small glance. She was swinging her arms at her side and her face was tilted up to the sky, but he could still see the tinge of pink on her cheeks. He smiled slightly when her head turned to see him looking at her. She returned his smile as he took her hand in his.

"Yeah, I do," she whispered, wrapping her fingers around his.

"Good," he said right back to her. "'Cause I love you, too, midget."

They walked hand-in-hand back home in contented silence, their confessions bringing smiles of happiness to their faces.

* * *

><p><em>AN: There you have it! Another post!_

_So I'm sorry for not posting yesterday. I think that my writer's block might be caused by writing so much and just plain running out of ideas, so I think I might switch to every other day for now. :) Hopefully you guys don't mind._

_Another "fun fact" that you all love SOO much, haha. My original idea for this one-shot was for Ichigo to be saying the first line (I promised I wouldn't tell, but I guess I can trust you) to Rukia about him asking Inoue out, but then I thought that she wouldn't really ask him not to tell, so then I switched it to her saying that. But then the idea of writing a IchiHime fic that I couldn't think of a way to switch to IchiRuki made me want to throw up so bad that I changed it. Haha._

_Thanks to all you wonderful reviewers! You're the best! (You get the cookies)._

**curio cherry- **Yeah, Rukia's pretty crazy, haha. And I know! Ichigo should be grateful, without Chappy, he'd never have the chance... or maybe just not the guts. Haha.

**ChocoboMuffins- **I'm glad you're glad! I would _love_ to do another family fic! And yeah, Kaien and Masaki are really the only names I can imagine them having... But maybe that's just because I don't know a whole lot of Japanese names. Haha.

**darklover- **Thanks! It took a while, but I got it all out! Rukia is ridiculous, but honestly, what else would she cry like that over? Haha.

**Miku Alli- **I wouldn't cancel Bleach, I love it too much. And it's a good chance that all the people that didn't review, whatever their favorite t.v. shows are I probably wouldn't cancel. I like too much t.v., haha. Although... most of my favorite shows are _already_ cancelled... Hmm... *Throws you a life preserver* Sorry about that, haha! But I'm glad you thought it was cute! :)

**BosRonald- **THANK YOU! :D I'm so glad that somebody actually thought that this was thoroughly funny and recognized it for the absurdity that it was. :) You're awesome.

_I'll update on Saturday next, people! Also, hurray for the new replying system! :D_

**REVIEW! Or I'll tell Matsumoto your deepest, darkest secret and then get her drunk!**


	32. Changing

_A/N: Set to Substitute arc, with a few minor changes. :) I'd tell you, but that' give it all away. That's where we are, yup, yup! No spoilers. :D Enjoy!_

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach. I do, however, own Bleach_ers..._ Okay, so I don't own those either. Shut up.

CHANGING

Ichigo cleared his throat loudly, looking pointedly at the raven-haired girl lounging on his bed. She didn't flinch, didn't move, didn't acknowledge him in the slightest. Instead she simply flipped the page of her manga and pulled out the lollipop she had in her mouth. Ichigo growled and attempted to catch her attention again. When she ignored him again, he yelled, "RUKIA! DAMMIT, LISTEN TO ME!"

Rukia rolled her eyes and flipped over onto her back, finally granting him the satisfaction of looking at him. "What?" she said irritably.

Ichigo took a deep breath, closing his eyes as he did so. "I need you to leave the room."

Rolling back on her side, Rukia answered, "No."

"RUKIA!" Ichigo shouted, his patience (which is never that great) was wearing thin. "I need to change!"

The petite shinigami simply waved a hand over her shoulder. "Go to the bathroom then."

"My dad would find that strange, plus, all of my clothes are in here."

Rukia simply shrugged. "Not my problem."

"Rukia..." Ichigo said, trying to keep his voice down since his father and sisters were downstairs. "Please leave the room."

"Wouldn't your dad think it's weirder if I was standing in the hallway?"

_Dammit._ He hadn't thought of that. Rukia smirked at his silence. "Well, can you at least go to your closet?"

"Nope. I'm comfy here. You go to my closet."

Fuming, Ichigo stomped over to his bed and ripped the manga from her hands and the lollipop from her mouth. Ignoring her protests of "Hey, give that back," Ichigo opened the window and threw them out. "Fetch." He glared at her with enough intensity to kill a small elephant.

She met his glare head on and they remained that way for the better half of a minute before Rukia finally broke the eye contact and shrugged again. "I don't mind; it's not mine, it's your sister's. I wasn't really into it anyway." She turned back to his bed and pulled out another manga, this time holding onto it carefully but firmly and guarding it against the orange-haired teen.

"Midget, come on, I can't change with you here!" Ichigo complained as she flipped the manga open.

"Just... pretend I'm not here," she said nonchalantly.

"W-wh-wha-what?" Ichigo sputtered, a deep red blush creeping on his cheeks.

Rukia rolled her eyes and sighed. "Oh, please, Ichigo. It's not like I haven't seen it all before."

"WHAT?" Somehow, his face turned even more red so that he was resembling more of a fire truck than a human being.

"Not on you, idiot," Rukia said irritably. "Though I have seen enough of you for a lifetime. It's what comes with healing."

Ichigo struggled to keep his cool as he processed this fact. Rukia had seen him... what? Topless? He gulped. Bottomless? He decided to shake the thought from his mind. "Rukia, I can't change while you're in the room, idiot!"

She sighed. "I'll close my eyes, okay? It's not like I can go anywhere."

Battling with the posibilities of disaster vs. his need to change, Ichigo finally sighed in defeat. "Fine. Turn around and _do not look._"

"Psh. Like I'd want to anyway," Rukia replied in an unconcerned tone. She heard him shift behind her, then some cloth being ripped off of his body in an instant. Her face was turning red, she knew it, but she tried her best to conceal it as she flipped through the manga, not even looking at it any more. _Maybe this wasn't the best idea,_ she thought as she heard another peice of fabric come off his body.

Ichigo shuffled to the other side of the room to get to his dresser. He yanked it open and began to search for a night shirt. There was only one problem: the whole drawer was empty. Starting to feel panic rise in his chest, he opened the next drawer down to find it empty as well. And the next, and the next. He turned to Rukia's form on the bed and shakily put his pants back on. His shirt, however, he couldn't seem to find for some reason. Finally, he spoke in an angry voice, "Midget, that's not funny."

Rukia, still beet red from the thought of Ichigo unclothed behind her, didn't turn around. "What's not funny?"

"Tell me where all my clothes are now."

"I don't know where your clothes are, idiot! Don't blame everything on me! Maybe Yuzu thought the foul odor you emit all the time came from your clothes so she washed them all!"

"I don't have B.O.!" Ichigo protested.

"Tell that to every flower you kill as you walk by!"

Ichigo growled menacingly before jumping on the bed and pinning her down by her arms. "Stupid Midget! Tell me where my clothes are now or so help me I'll-"

"You'll what?" Rukia asked flatly. "Sit on me to death?"

Amber eyes narrowed into the glaring violet orbs. Rukia was using all of her willpower not to look at the bare skin of his chest. Sure, she'd seen it before, but every time... _Damn._ It was just so... _damn!_ She was so caught up in her thoughts she didn't notice as Ichigo's scowl turned into a smirk.

"No, I won't sit on you to death..." the daiko said mischeviously. "I'll do something far worse."

Rukia simply raised an eyebrow and said, "I really don't know where your stupid clothes are, Strawberry."

"That's IT!" Ichigo said before grabbing her head and forcing his lips to hers firmly. She stiffened underneath him as his hard, warm lips pushed roughly against hers and his right hand embedded itself in her hair. His eyes, she noticed, were squinting shut, almost as if he was afraid that if he looked at her, he'd be reminded of who he was currently kissing and be completely grossed out. Little did she know that he was actually forcing himself not to get lost in the kiss, to remember what he was supposed to be doing. Rukia let her eyes flutter close and she softened to the kiss. As her lips parted, however, Ichigo drew back. Both teens were bright red, but Ichigo had a triumphant smirk on his face. He dangled her manga out the window and this time smiled as he threw it out. "Ha." His voice cracked, dampening the effect.

Rukia, still beet red, attempted to glare at him darkly. She actually looked more like she was squinting into a bright light; she wasn't very good at acting when she had just been forced into a kiss from the very person she'd never expect it from... and the only person she'd ever want one from. "You had better go get that," she threatened in a dangerously low voice.

"Tell me where my clothes are," Ichigo countered.

Rukia let out a frustrated huff before saying, "I _told_ you, stupid idiot Strawberry, that I don't _know_ where your clothes are!"

Ichigo sat up and crossed his arms. "If you're trying to get me to kiss you again, it's not gonna work."

Trying to ignore the fact that she was now blushing furiously, Rukia rolled her eyes. "Oh, please. Like I'd ever want that. Besides," she added sitting up as well and wrapping an arm around his shoulder. She felt it tense up beneath her. "If I _really_ wanted a kiss," she leaned in so that she could feel his hot breath on her face, "I could get it myself." She roughly patted his head a pranced up, leaving him shocked on the bed alone.

After taking a moment to recover, Ichigo turned to her angrily. "Don't- just- what- why- you- STUPID MIDGET!" he finally sputtered out. Rukia chuckled as she tossed a heap of clothing at him.

"Here. It's my big shirt you let me borrow. You can wear that to bed if you want." She eyed his chest one more time, fixing a look of disgust upon her face even though her heart was racing inside. "Please put it on, you're making me sick."

Fuming, Ichigo ripped it on and flopped on his bed. "Turn out the light before you get in your closet, Midget."

Rukia smirked and did as he asked, but instead of going back to the closet, she walked over to the bed and leaned in close to his face. "Good night, Strawberry," she whispered, her face so close that their lips would be touching if either of them moved even slightly.

"G-G-G-Goodnight," Ichigo managed to get out, his face turning red yet _again._

Rukia threw back her head and laughed loudly. "Oh, I love making you squirm!" she said before she walked back to her closet. Ichigo was grumbling something about idiotic midgets as he rolled over on the bed. She took one last long glance at his form before sliding the door closed and submerging herself in the complete darkness.

XXXXX

Once Ichigo was asleep, Kon snuck out of the room and downstairs to the living room. Ichigo's shirt from the day was in his hands. "Here," he said, tossing it up to Isshin, who was snoring but woke with a start. "I couldn't get his pants in time."

"Oh, Kon... that's all right, I guess." Isshin rubbed his eyes sleepily and sat up. "Did you get it?" he asked, a huge grin spreading on his face.

"Yeah, I got it," Kon said, grumpily handing the crazy father a camera.

Isshin took the camera excitedly and turned it on, flipping through the pictures. One of Ichigo shirtless, one of Ichigo in only his boxers, one of Ichigo shirtless pinning Rukia down on the bed, and one of the heated kiss they shared. Isshin's smile grew evily. "These are gold," he said gleefully before adding, "More than I hoped for. Just _wait_ till Kisuke sees these!"

Kon sighed and grumbled, "Yeah, yeah, whatever. Just give me my payment."

Isshin grinned and handed over the explicit magazines before turning back to the camera and flipping through the pictures again. He leaned back into a mound of Ichigo's clothes before mumbling, "I wonder if we can get this in large size..."

* * *

><p><em>AN: xD Hee, hee. I hope you like it. Crazy Isshin as always! And I know that Kon would be upset over his precious Nee-san getting blackmailed or publicly shamed, but I think he'd go to any length to get the magazines. Sorry for any OOCness that may have occured in the making of this fic. I know it's not like Ichigo to do something like that. :)_

_So last night I had a dream that I got my first flame... It sucked, haha. But I was really happy when I checked this morning and found only good things! Yeah, you know you got it bad when you start having dreams about reviews._

_I think just the thought of not updating every day now has helped me write more already. :) It was just a lot of pressure. Every other day is much easier! :)_

_Thanks to all you wonderful people who reviewed!_

**darklover-** I also love Ren/Tats! I think they're really good for each other. ;) That's true... Rangiku is the only one who doesn't ever end up naked after one of her drinking escapades... Aw, man! There I go again, messing it up. :/ I wasn't sure which one it was and I was too lazy to find out, so that's what it gets me. Thanks for pointing it out! Hopefully I won't make that mistake in the future, haha. ;)

**curio cherry- **Matsumoto is a very bad secret-keeper, it's true, haha. ;) Ren/Tats ftw! :D I love that pairing. I just think they're so alike that it's perfect. xD

**Disha5-** Thanks! I'm glad that you liked it! Groovy.

**Miku Alli-** Why are all the best shows canceled? I don't get it. :/ Man, I keep killing you with cuteness, haha! Well, if you have to go down, why not do it because of that? ;) And I like how you reviewed and THEN asked that question. Haha.

**REVIEW! Or I'll steal all of YOUR clothes... O.O That'd be interesting. Everyone, well a lot of peope, on fanfiction walking around naked...**


	33. Evolution of Birthdays

_A/N: The numbers before each segment indicates what birthday of Ichigo's it is. No spoilers. Enjoy, and thanks for reading! :D_

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach. I wish I did so that I could bring Rukia back! Graepmdidahfdjdsji!

EVOLUTION OF BIRTHDAYS

_0_

"Congratulations, Mr. and Mrs. Kurosaki," the doctor said, pulling a screaming child from behind the blue screen. "You have a healthy baby boy."

"A... son?" Isshin said, tears forming in his eyes as he looked down at the baby. "Oh, I cannot wait to teach him everything there is to know." He gingerly reached out and took the baby from the doctor's hands before walking back to his wife.

Masaki smiled, sweat still rolling down the sides of her face and her hair sticking to her skin. "He's beautiful," she said as she reached up to brush the tiny orange hairs on the top of the baby's head. "My Ichigo..."

_1_

Ichigo smiled widely as his birthday cake was brought out to him. "Make a wish, sweetie," Masaki said and she, too, was grinning. Isshin was standing by, taking millions of pictures with their new camera. Ichigo, instead of making a wish, stuck his whole hand into the cake and brought a huge chunk out, sticking it in his mouth.

_3_

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY, IIIICCHHIII-GO!" Isshin screamed as he brought in a large present. Ichigo grinned at the gift and ran towards it.

"What is it, Daddy?" he asked, his hands running over the huge box.

Isshin raised an eyebrow and smiled at his son. "Open it and see."

Ichigo ripped the paper off to see a picture of a bicycle on it. He gasped in surprise and excitement. "Oh, boy! Thanks, Daddy!"

His father ruffled his hair and smiled. "It's from your mom, too."

Running over to throw his arms around his laughing mother, Ichigo grinned wider. "Thanks, Mommy!"

She placed a delicate kiss on his forehead. "You're welcome, sweet heart."

_4_

Ichigo sat pouting in a corner. It was _his_ birthday, _his._ Not his twin sisters' birthday. So why were they so special?

Masaki came over and sat beside him. "Ichigo, come back to the party," she said as she ruffled his hair.

It was really difficult to be unhappy with his mother beside him, but Ichigo forced himself to scowl. "Karin and Yuzu are being annoying."

"Really?" Masaki gasped. "You know, Ichigo, your sisters are special to your father and I, but you are being honored today. It's your birthday, so we're all here for _you._ But you have to remember that you're the big brother now and sometimes your sisters need some extra attention. Can you be a big boy and a good brother by helping them and understanding?"

Ichigo's eyes lit up at the suggestion. "Okay!" He jumped up from his spot and ran back into the kitchen where his family was eating their meals. Masaki smiled as she saw him grab a binky that had fallen out of Karin's mouth and hand it back to her. _He's going to be a great older brother,_ she thought with a smile.

_10_

The kitchen was quiet as the family recently cut to four sat around the table. Isshin slammed his hands down on the table, making his three children jump. "HAPPY BIRTHDAYYY, ICHIGOOO!" He yelled, standing up. He knew at that moment that he had to be the man he became. If he didn't, he knew that none of his children would feel like it would be okay to be happy without Masaki. It was the first big event since her death. None of them were taking it very well, but Ichigo especially wasn't.

Ichigo only scowled and crossed his arms over his chest tighter.

"Yuzu, did you make a cake?" Isshin asked, grinning widely. It was painful, but it would be worse if life was always like this.

The brunette nodded and jumped out of her chair and ran to get it. Isshin followed to help her and he lit the candles and carried it back out to the table.

"Make a wish, Ichigo!" Isshin said cheerfully.

_I wish I could be better next time... protecting people._ Ichigo thought before he blew out the candles.

_15_

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY ICHIGO!" Keigo yelled as he suddenly appeared from behind the bushes, arms wide open and ready for a hug... which Ichigo blocked with his fist.

"Hi, Keigo," the carrot top said and kept walking.

"WHY?" wailed the brunette from behind him, tears streaming down his cheeks.

Mizuiro jogged up to walk in step beside the birthday boy. "Hey." Ichigo nodded in response. "Happy birthday."

"Thanks."

Keigo quickly recovered and ran up beside him with stars in his eyes. "Are you having a party? Are you inviting Inoue-san?"

"No."

"What?"

"No parties," Ichigo said with a sigh.

Keigo burst into tears for a second time. "WHAT? WHY NO PARTIES?"

"I don't want a party."

"Why not?"

Ichigo shrugged. "Just don't." It wasn't exactly true; he just didn't like birthdays. He didn't like days dedicated to only him. He didn't feel as though he deserved them. Ignoring Keigo rambling on and on about birthday parties, Ichigo walked the rest of the way to school, dreading the day before him.

_16_

Rukia walked downstairs to find Yuzu making pancakes. She raised an eyebrow. "Special occasion?"

Yuzu nodded. "It's Ichi-nii's birthday today!"

Leaning against the door frame, Rukia felt a smirk come over her face. "Oh, really?" she said as she crossed her arms.

"Uh huh! He likes pancakes," the small chef said with a big smile.

"Oh, I see," Rukia said as she began to slip out of the room. "I'll be right back."

She took the stairs two at a time, hoping Isshin hadn't gotten there first. Stopping by Ichigo's door to listen for sounds of movement, a grin spread over Rukia's face. She eased the door open and went to stand over the orange-headed daiko. Just as she was about to open her mouth to yell "Happy birthday," Isshin came running into the room.

"IIIICCHIIGOOOO!" he yelled as he jumped on top of his son. He didn't notice Rukia there until he was in mid-air, but he winked at her as he went down.

Ichigo sprang up, knocking his father to the floor in a crumpled heap and hitting Rukia's head with his own. "OW! What was that for, goat face?" he asked, rubbing his sore head. Rukia was doing the same with a scowl.

"Happy... birth...day," Isshin croaked out from his spot on the floor.

"You really have a sick sense of what someone would want to wake up to on their birthday," Ichigo said, swinging his legs over the side of the bed.

Isshin stood up and took an overly-dramatic pose: one foot in the air, hands held together and fingers entwined. You could almost see the hearts in his eyes. "Well, Rukia-chan was about to kiss you awake, would that've been better? Oh, Masaki, our son is _finally_ getting some! He's going to make us grandpar-"

Ichigo silenced him with a kick to his face, knocking him to the ground. He then turned to Rukia. "What is he talking about?"

She shrugged. "I don't know," she said in the voice Ichigo hated. "I was going to wake you up, but not with a kiss."

Ichigo glowered at her. "Why are you talking that way?"

"Oh, well, since it's your birthday, I thought I'd be especially nice to you today," she said with a wide smile on her face.

Ichigo sighed. It was going to be a _long_ day.

_18_

Ichigo sighed, changing into his pajamas. It had been a long day, but at least it was over now. He allowed himself a glance at the vacant closet. The room was empty; he could say it here. He chuckled sadly. "I miss you, Midget." After turning off the light, he went to his bed and laid down.

Rukia watched from his open window. He couldn't see her anymore. _Stupid Aizen,_ she thought, tears clinging to her eyelashes. If there was one thing she hated him for, it would be all the torture he caused Ichigo. Even now, he was suffering because of Aizen. And so was she. She missed him, too.

She hopped into the room and walked over to his bed. Standing over him, she smiled softly. "Ichigo," she whispered softly, reaching out to touch him, brush back his hair, but her hand went straight through him. Her heart fell. "I miss you, too. So much." Tears were falling steadily now, falling on his face, but he couldn't feel them. "I wish I could wish you a happy birthday and you'd hear me. I wish that I could kick you and yell at you and you'd hear me. I wish..." She wished for a lot of things, but she knew she shouldn't dwell on them. With a last glance at the orange-haired teen, she jumped back out the window.

_20_

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ICHIGO!" they all chorused, smiles bright on their faces. Ichigo smiled, too. Things had certainly picked up over the past couple years. He was out of high school, he could see spirits again, and he could once again protect his loved ones. Those weren't his favorite changes, though. Rukia came to stand next to him and wrapped an arm around his shoulder. _That_ was.

"Make a wish," she reminded him with a smile.

He nodded and closed his eyes tight. A moment later he blew out the candles and everyone else in the room cheered.

Later, when the cake was cut and everyone was eating it happily, Ichigo walked over to Rukia. She smiled at him as he approached and met him halfway.

"Are you having a good birthday?" she asked him.

He nodded. "Yeah, but it's not perfect yet."

She raised an eyebrow at him. "Oh, really? And why is that?"

In an answer, he grabbed her by the waist and pressed his lips to hers. When he pulled away, he chuckled at her shocked face. "Unless you slap me, it's perfect now."

Naturally, she smacked him.

He held his face and gasped. Sure, he'd never taken that step before with her, but he'd thought that they were both there. Rukia was bright red.

"That was for springing that on me," she informed him before grabbing his face and bringing his lips to hers again for a quick peck. "That's for finally doing what I've been waiting for for weeks."

He smiled and leaned back in for another kiss. Before his lips met hers, he whispered, "Mmm... My wish came true."

_23_

"Ichigo! Come here!" Rukia called from their new living room, having just moved in together.

He rolled his eyes but did as she said and walked over to the couch. "What is it?"

"Sit down, I have to give you your birthday present," she ordered.

Sighing, he said, "I told you, you didn't have to give me anything." He sat down anyway.

She smiled and handed him a box. He opened it, trying to appear annoyed as he did so. Inside the box, there was a single slip of paper. He picked it up and squinted at the tiny handwriting. "Why is everything about you so small?" he complained. After a swift kick to the shin, he continued. "_This coupon is good for..."_ his eyes widened to the size of saucers as he read his gift. "Really?" he asked, a grin begining to spread on his face.

"Really," she grinned back at him.

"No... Chappy for a month?" _This_ was new.

Rukia stuck her nose in the air and crossed her arms. "Correction: _you_ are not obligated to watch it with me. I still plan on watching it when you're not around."

He surprised her by wrapping her in a huge hug, cutting off her air circulation. "_THANK YOU!_" he said.

She patted his back, but not in a friendly sort of way. "Ichi...go... You're cutting off... my air suppl...y," she managed to get out. He quickly jumped off of her and apologized.

Smiling up at him, she said, "Happy birthday, idiot."

_25_

Rukia walked into the room carrying a couple of wine glasses a bottle of wine, and her "gift." She smiled at Ichigo, who was sprawled out on the couch, flipping through channels. "Ichigo," she said softly, making him jump.

"Dammit, Rukia, don't _do_ that!" he complained. He spotted the little box she had in her hand, along with the wine and glasses, and he groaned. "Rukia, I thought we said that we weren't going to make a big deal about it this year! We already had a party at Dad's!"

"I know you were looking forward to a carefree night at home," Rukia said as she sat down next to him on the couch, "_but,_ it's not only your 25th birthday, a milestone," at this Ichigo rolled his eyes. "It's also our first birthday as a married couple!"

She looked so excited that Ichigo simply didn't have the heart to refuse her any more, so he sighed and agreed to her little "celebration" of sorts. She opened the bottle of wine and poured out a small amount into each glass. After both of them took a sip, Ichigo scowled at the box in her hands. "Well? What's in there?"

"Open it," she told him with a grin, pressing it into his hands.

Ichigo grumbled inaudibly for a moment as he ripped off the wrapping paper. After what seemed to him to be 10 minutes (although Rukia reassured him that it was only 2,) he lifted off the tiny lid of the box and pulled out what was inside. Turning bright red, he gulped loudly. He was holding a lacy peice of fabric, _two_ lacy peices of fabric, actually, that were made specifically for, erm, _intimate_ situtations. Ichigo looked up warily (but excitedly) at his wife to find her grinning and placing a big bow on the top of her head.

"Happy birthday, Ichigo." She smiled seductively. "D'you like it?"

He grinned and began to lean over to her. "It's just what I wanted."

_29_

He was dreaming. It was a peaceful dream of him and Rukia... They were simply laying in a field together, her head on his stomach, and she was playing with a flower. He felt himself smile inwardly; it was perfect...

"DADDY!"

Ichigo woke with a start as a small body jumped on top of him. His eyes shot open and he saw his three-year old son's huge, violet eyes peering at him, his face two inches away. "AHH!" Ichigo screamed, moving quickly backwards. "Ah, Kaien! Don't do that, okay, buddy?"

His son, still wide-eyed, nodded. "Okay, Daddy."

Ichigo sleepily rubbed his eyes and glanced over to Rukia's side of the bed only to find it empty. His nose detected the smell of pancakes coming from the other room and he knew that she was in there preparing a feast for the four of them; Hisana was probably already in there. Stifiling a yawn, Ichigo turned back to his son.

"Happy birthday, Daddy!" he said happily, throwing his tiny arms around his father's neck.

Ichigo chuckled. "Thanks, Kaien."

The boy jumped off the bed and ran out the door, causing Ichigo to chuckle yet again as he swung his feet over the edge of the bed and stood up. He slipped from the bedpread and walked laziliy out to the kitchen. There was Rukia, flipping the pancakes carefully. Ichigo sniggered; only she would be worried that she'd mess _pancakes_ up.

At the sound, Rukia turned around and smiled. "Happy birthday, Ichigo."

He came over to her, wrapping his arms around her waist and gave her a quick peck on the lips. "Thanks," he said with a smile.

"EW!" Kaien yelled, covering his eyes. "GROSS!"

Both parents laughed, but Ichigo released his wife anyway and walked over to the high chair that was sitting beside the table. Hisana _had_ been asleep, until Kaien's yelling, at which she woke with a start, looking as though she was about to cry, but as soon as she saw her dad, a huge smile spread across her face and she reached out for him.

Ichigo grabbed her and spun her in a circle, her giggling all the way, before holding her to his chest and giving her a kiss on her forehead. "Hiya, baby girl."

"Daddy!" she squealed, throwing her arms as far as she could around his broad shoulders.

"It's Daddy's birthday today, Hisana! Did you know that?" Kaien said, coming up behind her and gently holding onto her tiny foot.

The two-year old's face lit up. "Hap-py birfday, Daddy!"

Ichigo laughed loudly. "Thanks, sweet heart!" He gently set her back down in her high chair and went back to Rukia's side. "Anything I can do to help?"

"Oh, no, _sweetie,_ you go sit back down at the table." Ichigo knew that the only reason she was refraining from calling him an idiot was because their children were in the room.

"If you're sure, _darling._" He tried to get across that he was really calling her 'midget' in his head. A quick glare and a small smile told him he had done his job well.

The family ate breakfast together making chit-chat (mostly induced by Kaien and Hisana, the two most talkative children in the world, or any other, for that matter) and soon their plates were empty, their bellies full.

"Daddy! I made this for you!" Kaien said, grinning and handing him a peice of paper with an original drawing on it.

Ichigo took one glance at it and looked back up to Rukia, a smile playing at his lips. "Oh, Rukia, he inheirited his drawing skills from you!" Kaien beamed; he took it as a compliment.

Ichigo felt a sharp kick from under the table and winced, but then grinned. _Haha, take that, Midget!_ He looked back down to the picture and his smile grew even more. It was of Ichigo with his family, all singing 'Happy Birthday' (words clearly written by Rukia). They were all holding hands and smiling, and Ichigo knew it was perfect.

_57_

"Hi, Dad, happy birthday," Kaien said as he walked through the door, carrying a sleeping bundle of Aiko, his 4-year old daughter.

Ichigo pulled him into a side-hug, careful not to bump the sleeping child. "Thanks, Kaien. Where's Miki and Riko?" he asked, refering to his son's wife and second granddaughter.

"They're still in the car, but they'll be in soon. Here," he said, shifting Aiko as he reached into his back pocket to grab a card. "It's from all of us."

"Thanks," Ichigo said before setting it down on the table behind him.

The door opened as Miki ran in, the six-year old going straight for her grandfather. "Hi, Grandpa!"

Ichigo laughed as she jumped into his arms. He hugged her tight and set her back down on the ground. "Hi, Miki, how are you?"

"Good." Suddenly, her interest was taken by another enterance into the house; their dog, Ren. "Here girl! Come here!" She bent down and patted her knees as the dog ran to her eagerly. When it got to her, it started to bombard her face with licks. Miki just laughed and pushed the dog's head away.

"Hey, Dad," Riko said as she walked in, carrying a large dish. Riko was a chef, so she always did the cooking when they all got together. Ichigo reached around to grab it and set it on the table. When he turned around, he hugged her and gave her a muffled hello.

"Is Hisana here yet?" Kaien asked, looking around for the sign of his sister.

Ichigo shook his head. "Not yet, but she'll be here soon."

As if on cue, a silver car pulled into the driveway and Hisana got out, waving. She walked around the the back of the car and pulled out a small boy, her only child, Taiki. She jogged up to the door and Kaien held it open for her. "Thanks!" she squeaked as she walked in.

"Is Yori going to be here?" Ichigo asked, slightly confused as to why she was arriving without her husband.

"No, he had to work, but he said to wish you a happy birthday!" Hisana said brightly as she set down her son, who walked straight over to Miki and Ren.

"Hi, Taiki!" Ichigo said. The 5-year old turned and looked at him with wide, amber eyes before he waved, a smile coming onto his face. He didn't talk much, never had.

Hisana looked at all of the faces in the room and frowned. "Where's Mom?" she asked Ichigo.

"I'm coming!" Rukia called from the other room. She still looked basically the same, unlike Ichigo, who had gone gray and got some wrinkles over the years. She still had her raven-black hair, vibrant violet eyes, and smooth skin. She did look older now, though, perhaps in her late 20's instead of the 12-year old she used to look like. Urahara had gotten her a new gigai so that it wouldn't be _as_ weird for her to be married to a 57-year old man. She still looked the same in her soul form, though.

She wrapped her arms around Hisana, then Kaien, and then Riko. "Welcome home," she said with a bright smile on her face.

Hisana smiled widely and looked at them all. "Well, since we're all here now, I have some news." Everyone looked at her expectantly. "I'm pregnant!" she said happily.

Ichigo felt tears welling up in his eyes; he knew how difficult it was for her to even have Taiki, but to finally get pregnant with another wonderful child... "That's the best birthday gift ever," he told her as he hugged her close to him.

_89_

"Oi, Rukia."

"What, Ichigo?"

"Do shinigamis really celebrate birthdays? Aren't they all dead?"

Rukia sighed and looked over to her husband, transformed back into his youthful looking self. "You were still born weren't you, idiot?"

"I guess..."

"So, yes, we do." With that, she turned back to the cake she was baking for his first birthday as a dead man. She smiled as she realized that there were going to be a lot of those and they would spend every single one _together._

_A/N: I know it's LOOONNNGGGG, haha. I wanted to give you a special one, though, because I'm going to be gone all week with no internet access, which means no updates until Sunday! And I did Ichigo's birthday one now (obviously) because I won't be here on his actual birthday, so yeah. Plus, today is right in the middle of his original birthday (July 7th) and his current one (July 15th). I hope you liked it! I'll miss you all while I'm gone, but I plan on updating Sunday for both Reasons and Alphabet Soup, so you don't have to wait _too_ long. ;)_

_Sorry if any of these were cliche or ended awkwardly. I had a bit of trouble with some of them._

_Also, I know that _technically_, Ichigo is still 15 in the manga now and Rukia is gone _now,_ but I wanted at least one birthday with her before he couldn't see her any more, and he met her at 15, so I pushed it back a year. :)_

_And my favorite birthday would probably be his 25th or 29th. Haha. Let me know your favorites in a review!_

_Thanks, as always, to my favorite people in the world: REVIEWERS! :D I love you all._

**Yoshizo Kurochi- **Me too! Haha, that's why I can't help but keep writing him. He just makes me laugh so hard. xD

**Miku Alli-** Kon would do anything to get any sort of action whatsoever, haha. Haha, *helps revive you so you can (hopefully) die again for this chapter!*

**curio cherry-** Oh, man Urahara, Yoruichi, Isshin _and_ Kon? Man, that would kill Ichigo! Haha, that would be funny... It's sad that although I love Ichigo to pieces, I laugh while thinking about his demise...

**darklover-** Oh, I'm glad you didn't mind the OOCness! That makes me feel a lot better. I'm glad you liked the chapter and I hope this one is up to par! Thanks for reading, as always!

**ChocoboMuffins-** Haha, I totally understand, because I'm the same way. I always grin like an idiot whenever someone replies to my reviews. XD Aw, thanks! That's so nice of you! :D

**Disha5-** Haha, it's good to hear that I keep them in character despite the OOC elements. I honestly don't know how I do it, either. Haha.

**REVIEW! Or I won't update for a week! Oh, wait... I won't anyway.**


	34. Another

_A/N: No spoilers! :D_

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach. I keep wishing on my eyelashes, but it never works. :(

ANOTHER

_"Kenpachi swung his unnamed zanpakuto to hit the mighty Kurosaki Ichigo, who deflected it with his huge sword. With one big movement, the two shinigamis swung at the same time, causing a giant explosion! Both were gravely injured, but only the great Kuroski Ichigo could be victorious!"_

A small orange-haired child jumped up and down in excitement. "I'm the winner! Ha, ha, take THAT, Rikuto!" he shouted at his twin brother, who slumped his shoulders in defeat and pouted.

"How come you always get to be Daddy?" he whinned. "I'm sick of being Kenpachi."

Kaien puffed out his chest and jabbed his thumb towards himself. "Because _I_ have orange hair like Daddy. You have black like Kenpachi."

Rikuto crossed his arms angrily and huffed. "No fair."

"Hey, guys, come inside!" Rukia called from the back door. The two boys dropped their play swords and ran to the house obediently. When they got to the door, they pushed and shoved each other out of the way so that they could be the one in first. As usual, Kaien won. He dashed inside and to his mother's side.

"Mom!" Rikuto cried from behind his twin brother. "He pushed me!"

"Tattle-tale!" Kaien accused with a scowl that resembled Ichigo's.

"Boys," Rukia warned, "no fighting." They both mumbled a "sorry, mom" before she smiled and continued. "Go wash up for dinner. It'll be ready soon."

"I'll race you!" Kaien challenged, and soon both boys were running down the hall to the bathroom.

Chuckling, Rukia turned back to the pot on the stove and gave it a stir. She took a sip from the spoon and sighed. It was warm and delicious, but it would never be as good as Yuzu's was.

"Mama!"

Rukia turned to see her one-and-a-half year old daughter in her high chair holding out her arms. "No, no, Hisana," she said softly, putting the toddler's bib back on. "We're going to eat soon."

Hisana giggled and sat back down, continuing to fling gooey applesauce all over the surface of her high chair.

Just as she was about to get the plates to set the table, Rukia heard a scream coming from down the hall. Soon, there were feet running towards the kitchen. Kaien and a young girl stood, the girl crying and Kaien looking angry.

"What happened?" Rukia asked, furrowing her brow.

The girl held out a doll with its head ripped off. "Look at what Kaien did!"

"Kaien!" Rukia scolded.

"Oh, please! Masaki was the one who called me carrot top!" Kaien protested.

Rukia frowned at both of her children. Kaien had always been a handful, Rikuto a follower, Masaki a bundle of emotions, and Hisana simply happy to be anywhere and everywhere at once. "I am disappointed in both of you." Her children bowed their heads in shame as she continued. "Your brother and your sister are far more important than any dolls," she looked pointedly at Masaki, "or any names," now to Kaien, "that they could ruin or call you, okay? I want you both to apologize."

"I'm sorry, Masaki," Kaien mumbled quietly.

"Sorry, Onii-chan," the black haired girl responded.

"Thank you. Now, Masaki, let me see your doll." The girl handed it over, blinking back tears, as Rukia attempted to fix it. She wasn't strong enough to force the head back on, so she set it aside. "When Daddy gets home, we'll ask him to fix it. Deal?"

Masaki grinned up at her through her tears. "Okay, deal."

"Did you wash up like I asked you to, Kaien?" Rukia asked, turning her eyes to the present of her 6-year old sons. He nodded, but Rukia could see the smudges of dirt still smeared all over his hands. "Ah, well that's a relief. There's been a disease going around that makes people turn hot pink and sprout warts all over their bodies before they die." She turned back to her pot and saw, out of the corner of her eye, her son go pale and run out of the room. A second later she heard the faucet turning on and she smiled. "You'd better wash up, too, Masaki."

"Yes, Mama," the 4-year old said before walking obediently out of the room.

Rukia heard a jingling in the door and walked over to it before it opened. She smiled as she saw her tall, scowling, handsome husband standing before her, car keys in hand. When his eyes rested on her, his scowl disappeared and his arms flew around her and pulled her from the ground.

She laughed good-heartedly. "Ichigo!"

He kissed her lips tenderly and set her back on the floor. "It's good to be home," he said, smiling.

"Long day?"

Ichigo sighed. "It just got shorter." He gave her a look and she crossed her arms.

"Is that a short joke?" she asked, trying with great difficulty to keep her face contorted into a scowl.

Before he had a chance to answer, Masaki came running into the room. "Daddy!" she called, raising her arms to him.

He grabbed her and swung her around. "Hi, princess!" She giggled and he held her close to his chest. "How was your day?"

The black-haired girl pouted and said, "Kaien broke my dolly."

"Did he? That bad boy," Ichigo said as he set Masaki down. "Where is it?"

The black-haired girl ran from the room to go get it, and the two adults gave each other a smile before Ichigo wrapped an arm around Rukia's shoulders and they both followed her to the kitchen. As soon as they walked through the doorway, Masaki thrust her doll and its head into her father's hands.

"Can you fix it?" she asked excitedly.

"Hmm..." Ichigo turned the doll's head around on its neck carefully, trying not to twist to far or too little. "There!" He handed the now fixed doll back to Masaki, who squealed and ran off to her room again.

"Don't forget to wash up," Rukia called down the hallway after her.

"What's for dinner?" Ichigo asked as he wrapped his arms around her waist again.

She did the same to him and smiled. "Chicken Noodle Soup."

"Again?" he sighed, slumping his shoulders. They'd had that for the past 3 nights, and frankly, he was sick of it.

Rukia nodded. "Masaki helped this time, though, so it'll definitely be more... interesting."

A look of tiredness mixed with aprehension passed over Ichigo's face, but he gave a weak smile anyway. "Okay, well, something new next time, right?"

"Yeah, I was thinking about maybe pizza for tomorrow."

"That sounds good." Ichigo leaned down and gave her a quick kiss that turned into a more heated kiss as he steadied her against him and she held his face there in place with her hands. Ichigo was about to deepen the kiss further with his tongue when he felt a glob of a wet substance stick in his hair. He sighed and pulled out of the kiss, turning to find Hisana giggling like a hyena. He grinned at her, walking over and playfully tickling her.

"What are you doing, you silly girl?"

She shreiked in laughter, her head lowering further in the seat until her short light brown hair was covered in applesauce as well. "Daddy!" she managed to get out between giggles.

"Heya, baby girl," he said with a smile, wiping some applesauce from her face with her bib.

From down the hall, Ichigo heard an excited cry of "Dad's home!" followed by "Daddy!" Soon, the two faternal twin boys were clomping down the hall. Soon, both were in the kitchen attacking their father with hugs.

"Hey, guys!" Ichigo said as he was slowly tackled to the floor. "Whoa, hold on a minute!" He picked each boy up in his arms and carried them, each hand holding a different boy's stomach, to the couch, where he dumped them. "How was your day?" he asked once they were all sitting comfortably.

"Good!" both boys answered simulatiously. They started to talk about their days at school and Ichigo listened intently, his arms around their shoulders.

Before long, Rukia called from the kitchen, "Okay, boys, it's time to eat!"

Kaien and Rikuto both groaned loudly, and Ichigo secretly wanted to do the same. However, he playfully carried them potato-sack style to the kitchen table and plopped them down on their seats before going to his own at the head of the table. Dinner was filled with conversation and delicious (though _different_) food. Masaki was proud of her work; she had stirred and added the chopped up carrots and chicken. Soon, it was time to clear the table and get the kids ready for bed.

After _finally_ convincing the boys to brush their teeth, fitting Hisana into a nightgown, and telling a poorly thought up bedtime story, Ichigo and Rukia tucked their children in. Starting in the girls' rooms, they put their youngest child in her crib and kissed her on the forehead.

"Good night, princess," Ichigo whispered as he left the room and switched off the light.

Next, they went to Masaki's room, where she was already in bed reading a book, or rather, looking at the pictures in it.

"Okay, Masaki, it's time to turn off the lights and go to sleep!" Rukia said, pulling her daughter's blanket further up her tiny body.

"All right, Mommy," Masaki said sleepily.

Ichigo smiled down on her. "Good night, Masaki."

"Good night, Daddy, good night, Mommy."

"Sweet dreams," Rukia wished her before she left the room.

The boys were next, and, as always, they were a handful to put to bed. As soon as Ichigo and Rukia walked into their shared room, they were met with chaos. Kaien was hanging from the top bunk of the boys' bed yelling and beating his chest. Rikuto was jumping on the bed and pretending to look for pirates. Eventually, though, Ichigo and Rukia succeeded in getting them to calm down and get in their beds instead of on them. They tucked their sons in one at a time (tonight was Rukito's turn) and turned off the light before heading out of the room and into their own.

They both collapsed on the bed, exhausted. Rukia closed her eyes peacefully and laid her hands on her stomach. Ichigo pulled her close and wrapped his strong arms around her. After laying for a moment, Rukia spoke. "Ichigo."

"Hmm?"

She hesitated slightly, but then nuzzled into her husband's embrace further. "I... I want another one."

"What? Another what?" Ichigo asked, looking confused.

Rukia looked up into his eyes and smiled. "Another kid."

_A/N: Sorry if it's not up to normal Poisonfish standards. I'm exhausted right now! Ahh!_

_Anyway, I'm back! Yay! I missed you all! :(_

_This chapter was requested by a few people, but I am too exhausted and lazy right now to actually look up who those wonderful people were. You know who you are. :) Also, I'd just like to say sorry if it seems anticlimatic. I'm not very good at writing kid one-shots. It's like I have no plot or any way of getting to where I want to go, so I just feel sorta like I'm writing pointless stuff when I'm writing it. Don't get me wrong; I love to read it and I love the idea of them with kids, I just feel like I don't do well with it._

_So, I'd like to thank all of you MARVELOUS reviewers! It was great to get notified during the week of my absense. :D - It made me look like this every time! ;) And OH MY GOODNESS 150 REVIEWS! YOU GUYS ARE AMAZING! *Throws party to which all of you are invited to.* There. I hope you had fun! Haha._

_ALSO! I'd like to apologize for getting this up later than I said I would. Even though it is just a day, I promised Sunday, but I just couldn't do it. I was on the road for 7 hours and then got home just to leave again, so by the time I got home and stayed there, I had enough creative ability and energy for one (very short) chapter of Alphabet Soup. :/ Sorry! I'll be doing the every other day thing again now that I'm back, though. :)_

_REVIEWS!_

**Miku Alli-** Haha, I'm glad you liked it! Yes, Happy Birthday to Ichigo! I almost forgot, but I didn't (obviously.) :D

**curio cherry-** 25 was my favorite, too, haha. Oh, man, I hope he does give Ichigo Rukia! That would be AWESOME!

**BosRonald-** No, dude, you are awesome. ;)

**darklover-** Thanks! Oh, and I thought so! I was really confused because I was _pretty_ sure that he was 17, but I had read somewhere recently that he stayed 15, and I haven't read the manga for a while so I thought I might be remembering wrong. Haha, thanks for pointing that out! And thanks! I had a great vacation! :)

**ChocoboMuffins-** Haha, I'm baaackk! :D I'm glad you liked it, hope you like this one, too! :)

**shayerasaiyo-** Thanks! I'm glad you liked it! I felt like a lot of people thought it was stupid because of its ending, but I'm glad that you liked it dispite that! Thanks for the compliment, too! Good luck on your fanfic!

**3rooke- **Haha, that's so cool that the lady behind you was reading it! That makes my day. :) Oh, I'm sure you won't end up alone! But haing 76 cats would be an adventure... haha. I'm glad to hear from you again and to hear that you liked it all! :D

**Rukia's Reflection-** Wow! Thanks for all the reviews! That makes me so happy. :) Yeah, I think that Ichigo is a big softie sometimes, too. Especially when it comes to Rukia. :) Haha, it's funny that you do the same thing! I totally do that too. I'm glad to know that I'm not the only one. ;)

**Winter Knight-** Thanks! I'm glad you like it! I really need to work on the series within the series... Haha.

**Andr3w R0b3rts0n-** Aw! Thank you! I'm glad you liked it! And don't worry; I'll keep writing till the cows come home. ;)

**REVIEW! Or I'll fling applesauce in your hair. xD**


	35. Kiss the Frog

_A/N: No spoilers. :)_

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach. Can I borrow yours?

KISS THE FROG

"Ruuuukkiaaa!" Ichigo whined as they walked down the street back to his house.

"No." Her voice was flat and her eyes empty as she answered.

Ichigo sighed. "Why not?"

Rukia stopped and looked at him. "Ichigo, we've been over this. I don't _want_ that kind of relationship with you!"

"Do you want that kind of relationship with anyone?" he asked with a pout.

Rolling her eyes, Rukia said, "No. Look, love is not what I'm looking for rightnow. In fact, I'm much happier without it."

"How do you know if you won't try?"

"I just do." Rukia began walking again, pushing Ichigo out of her way. But the orange-haired shinigami wasn't having any of that. He stopped right in front of her, grabbing her shoulders, and bent down to look her in the eyes.

"Rukia, I'm not asking you to love me. Yet. I'm asking you to give me a chance." His eyes were pleading and searching hers, but she adverted her gaze to the ground.

"Ichigo..."

"Fine, Rukia, let's do this." Ichigo stood up to his full height and let his arms drop from her shoulders. He looked down at her with a smirk before continuing. "If after this, you still don't want to give it a try, then I won't push it any more."

"What is it?" Rukia raised an eyebrow skeptically.

Ichigo's smirk widened. "Kiss me."

There was a beat of silence before Rukia shot out a punch to his gut and kneed him between the legs. He fell to his knees, howling in pain. Meanwhile, Rukia was shouting and cursing all at once. "NO! NO WAY WILL I EVER K-K-K-K... DO THAT!" Once she was done screaming at him, Rukia, fuming, began to walk again, leaving him behind.

After taking a few minutes to compose himself, or rather, make sure he was still able to walk, Ichigo stood and ran after her. "Why not?" he asked when he caught up to her.

"B-b-because!" Rukia stammered, turning bright red.

Ichigo sighed. "Rukia, if it doesn't mean anything to you, then it won't matter, right? It'll just be another kiss with another guy. But then at least I'd get off your back, right?"

The raven-haired shinigami huffed and stopped walking, successfully causing Ichigo to ram into her. "Idiot," she mumbled before turning to face him. "Ichigo, the problem is that it wouldn't mean nothing to _you._"

"No, you're right," he admitted softly. "But you'd be giving me a gift, and I'd never ask again."

Rukia didn't move for a moment, didn't speak, didn't make any sound save a sigh as she thought about his proposal. _Would it really hurt?_ she wondered. She couldn't deny that she had feelings for Ichigo, if she were honest with herself. But she was scared. What if it didn't work out? Would their easy friendship be ruined? These questions were the things that her mind dwelled on ever since Ichigo had told her that he loved her. She knew it was cliche, but the feelings of unease that her musings brought was enough to make her doubt that it would work out.

Finally, Rukia closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "If I kiss you, will you turn back into a frog and croak?"

Ichigo grinned widely. "If you want me to, yeah."

Opening her eyes, Rukia looked up at his handsome face, only enhanced by the grin that was in place now. Trying in vain to calm her stomach, Rukia uttered a single word: "Fine."

Ichigo's eyes gained a warmth she hadn't seen before as he took a step closer, his grin faltering as he looked at her face. A small smile took its place and he tilted her chin to look up at him. Rukia felt her heart flutter and her stomach drop as his face got closer to hers, and with a moment's hesitations, their lips met.

It wasn't a kiss of passion or a heated kiss. No. It was a slow and gentle kiss. Untold feelings ran between them and their eyelids fluttered shut. Ichigo held her face tenderly, Rukia's arms still dangled by her sides. Their lips didn't detatch from each other, but they also didn't move. They didn't need more than a simple closed-mouth kiss to express every pent up feeling inside. It was a simple kiss, no extra show or touch needed.

After about twenty seconds that seemed to last forever, they pulled apart just as gently as they had come together. Both kept their eyes closed and their heads close together. Ichigo didn't let go of Rukia's face, and she didn't pull away. They just stood there, completely at peace.

Finally, Ichigo's eyes opened and he looked at Rukia carefully, trying to gauge her reaction. Her eyes were still closed, but Ichigo brushed her hair back behind her ear and she looked up at him.

Without a word, Rukia backed away and took a step around Ichigo, who was still stooped over slightly. She continued the walk home as if nothing had happened, leaving her best friend behind in shock. "Are you coming, Strawberry?" she yelled over her shoulder.

Ichigo shook himself and turned around to look at her. "What?" he asked, still in a daze.

Rukia rolled her eyes and stopped, swivling on the spot to glare at him. "Are. You. Coming?" she asked again.

"Where?" he asked, giving her a completely lost look.

Crossing her arms over her chest, Rukia huffed. "I don't know if I like the idea of my boyfriend being such a dolt."

"Hey!" Ichigo protested before her words fully registered in his still muddled brain. "Hey...!" A grin the size of an elephant spread on his face and he ran over to her. "Boyfriend?" he asked hesitantly, trying and failing to surpress his grin.

She nodded. "We can try," she said quietly.

"Okay," Ichigo said before grabbing her hand and intertwining his fingers with hers. He smiled down at her and she did the same to him before they took their next step together.

_A/N: Lalala. Okay, so I feel like my creative energy is dead since I got back. Maybe it's because I'm sick or maybe it's because I just never truly got rid of that bad bout of writer's block, but I have such a hard time coming up with ideas and writing now. :/ It kinda stinks. Oh, well. I'm still pushing myself! So you'll get your updates, don't worry. :)_

_Also, sorry for any OOCness in this chapter. :) You know how it goes sometimes._

_Thanks to all of you wonderful reviewers! I love you all so much! OH MY GOODNESS! I got 9 reviews for last chapter alone! You guys are awesome. :) I really mean that. Thank you. And thanks to all of you who read and get alerts and favorited this, too. I rarely thank you guys, and I need to do it more. ;D Anyways, replies..._

**Moonstar2015-** Good idea! Thanks for the suggestion! I actually have an AU story I've started where she sings a few songs, so maybe I'll be able to post that soon. But I love ideas! I might use that for a one-shot too... ;)

**feich-** I know, haha. Sometimes I feel like I just do things to end the story with a BANG, but sometimes the bang isn't really that... bang-ful. Or realistic. Or good. Haha. Sorry about that. ;)

**darklover-** Thanks! I'm glad you found that part funny; I wasn't sure how I felt about it. Thanks so much for your encouragement!

**uryufangirl-** Yeah, it kinda depends on what chapter and how many I want them to have. This time it was 4, the first time I wrote a kid one-shot I think it was 2, so yeah. I go back and forth. ;) I'm glad you liked it though!

**Miku Alli-** Oh, I love Kenpachi, but let's face it. He lost. Haha. I think that was the only beef Rikuto had with him. I'm glad you like my one-shots and think they're cute! That makes me happy. :)))

**ChocoboMuffins-** Haha, sorry! Yeah, I've been getting later and later with the posts... Bad me. This one isn't even up in good time, either! Sheesh. I need to get better about that. ;) Haha, thanks! I'm glad you liked it! Yeah, I can't very well imagine having a kid yet, either. O.O It's a big responsibility.

**Winter Night-** Thanks! I'm glad you enjoyed it!

**Disha5-** Haha, I'm glad you liked my threat! ;) Applesauce in the hair is not fun. Ever. I didn't even think about putting his reaction up! That would've been good! Ah, I think it's because I was sort of just rushing to get this done and up in time. Writer's block is true evil. The proposal one-shot is in Alphabet Soup, my other story. Well, that's the recent one. Haha, I've had a ton... I really need to work on the wedding one-shot that's been sitting in my "In Progress" folder for weeks...

**Andr3w R0b3rts0n-** Haha, oh, I hope not! I wouldn't know what to do with it! Although I will admit, that'd be pretty awesome. Thanks so much for herding in those cows. xD And THANK YOU for all your encouragement! I really appreciate it x1000000001! ;)

**REVIEW! Or I'll turn you all into frogs. And the female population won't turn into princes with a kiss, so I don't know what'll happen to you. O.O**


	36. Vampires

_A/N: No spoilers! Sorry for taking forever to update! Enjoy, and please review!_

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach. And I shouldn't, because Tite Kubo is a lot better at keeping updating promises than me...

VAMPIRES

"See ya, Rukia, I'm leaving," Ichigo said as he grabbed his coat from the rack and his keys from the countertop.

"Ichigo!" Rukia ran into the room and slammed her husband's hand back onto the counter, forcing the keys to fall with a clang. "Where are you going?"

Giving her a wary look, Ichigo responded. "Out with the guys... Are you feeling all right?"

Rukia disregarded his question completely and gave him one of her own. "Which _guys_?"

"Renji, Chad, and Ishida. Is that a problem?"

Again, Rukia ignored this and prattled off another question. "Where are you guys going _out_ to?" Her violet eyes narrowed.

"To the bar on Main Street."

Finally, she eased up her grip on his hand. "All right, just be careful."

Ichigo rolled his eyes. "I will," he said aloud before muttering, "Crazy lady."

"No, Ichigo." Rukia grabbed his shoulders and spun him around to face her, looking deep into his eyes with a penetrating stare. "I mean it. Be _very, very careful."_

"What's up with you tonight?" Ichigo asked her, feeling her forehead gently. "Are you okay?"

Rukia swatted his hand away and glared at him. "I'm fine. I just don't want you wandering into any dark street corners or talking to anyone... dangerous."

Battling between shrugging this off and going to the bar to meet his friends and getting Rukia hospitalized, Ichigo finally decided on a compromise. He sighed and hung his coat back up, set the keys down on the counter again, and leaned up against the door. "All right," he said, crossing his arms over his chest. "What've you been up to?"

Rukia looked relieved at his sudden decision to stay home, if only temporarily. "Research."

_Oh, no,_ he thought, _this could never be good._ Instead of opening his mouth and risking saying something he wouldn't regret but would get kicked out of his bedroom for, Ichigo simply raised an eyebrow at his wife, silently asking her to continue.

"Did you know," Rukia whispered as if she was worried someone would hear her, "that there are creatures of the night lurking around at every turn?"

Ichigo stifled a laugh. "What 'creatures'?"

"Creatures that could make your skin crawl." Rukia's eyes widened and she took a step closer to Ichigo. "They are scary and dangerous. They bite you and suck your blood. And sometimes, depending on the _breed,_ they actually _sparkle._"

This time, Ichigo couldn't hold his laughter in. "Rukia," he said between gasps of air and chuckles, "_tell me_ you're not talking about" laughter "vampires!"

"Ichigo! Don't laugh!"

"Rukia, do you actually believe they're real?" he asked, finally able to surpress his laughter to a mocking smile.

"Okay, it's true. I believe in vampires. But I have proof, okay?" Rukia pleaded, grabbing onto Ichigo's arms and leading him to their living room couch.

"Proof?" Ichigo said, unable to conceal his mocking tone.

Rukia glared and nodded. "Yes, proof."

Stretching out his long limbs, Ichigo tucked his arms behind his head and leaned back into the couch. "This oughta be good," he muttered under his breath before asking, "What proof?"

"Well," Rukia began, reaching behind her and grabbing a large stack of various media, "I've been keeping up on my reading. Inoue-san lent me these books," she dropped a stack of black-covered books on the coffee table. "They're full of vampires. Inoue-san says they're based on a true story."

Ichigo took a look at the books and nearly fell over laughing. "_Twilight? _Really, Rukia?"

"What?" Rukia said, grabbing the books and clutching them to her chest. "It's true!"

"Rukia, there's no way that story is true." Ichigo picked one up and flipped to a random page. Pointing his finger at a random spot, he read aloud, "'_Be smart, avoid him as much as possible, cancel our plans, go back to ignoring him, pretend there was an inpenetrable glass wall between us in the one class we had together, tell him to leave me alone.' _Well, isn't he a vampire? Maybe this isn't as bad as I heard..." Ichigo said before he continued. "'_I was gripped in a sudden agony of dispair as I considered that.' _What? That's dumb." His eyes skimmed down the page as he continued reading. A couple times a sigger escaped his lips. Finally, he finished the page and looked back up to meet his wife's eyes. "Really, Rukia? You really believe this is _real_?"

Rukia, glaring angrily, snatched the book from his hands and held it to her chest. "You haven't read the whole thing! You're reading out of context!"

"I know the gist of it and I don't really want to read the whole thing." An amused smile tugged at Ichigo's lips.

"Fine," Rukia huffed. "So maybe that's not a reliable sourse. It is from Inoue-san," she added, mostly to herself. "But I have other sources!"

"Oh, really? Like what?"

Reaching behind her, the petite woman grabbed another stack of media and setting it down in front of Ichigo. "Well, there's a lot of stories about them. A _lot._ And my question is, why would there be so many if they weren't real?" A worried crease appeared on Rukia's forehead as she said this, and Ichigo couldn't help but feel amused.

"Rukia," he said softly as he moved over to sit beside her and took her hand in his, stroking it softly. "Do you trust me?" She nodded in reply, not meeting his eyes. "Well, then, trust me on this, okay? Vampires are not real. I promise."

"How can you be sure?" Finally, she turned her violet orbs to search his amber eyes for a reason, any reason, he believed this to be true.

"I... just know, okay?" he said, not really having a solid excuse. Again, Rukia nodded, and he pulled her into a hug.

After a few seconds of sitting in each other's arms, Rukia whispered in his ear, "If you're wrong, I will personally feed you to a vampire."

"Yes, ma'am." Ichigo couldn't help the smile that came on his face at her words.

"Good," she sighed into his chest, "because Edward Cullen is _really_ creepy."

Ichigo chuckled lightly and ruffled her hair gently.

They pulled apart and shifted so that they were comfortably sitting next to each other, Ichigo's arm around her shoulders and her head resting on his. Ichigo grabbed the t.v. remote and turned the television on, watching as the show began.

"Ichigo, I thought you were going out with the guys," Rukia said, puzzled.

Tightening his grip on her tiny frame, Ichigo smiled. "Nah, I think I'd rather stay here with you and protect you from _vampires._"

Rukia rolled her eyes and gave him a playful shove. "Ichigo, you dummy. Everybody knows that a vampire can't come in unless it's invited."

"My mistake," he said, smiling contently as he pulled her into his lap.

"Still," she said, leaning into his chest, "it's always better to be sure."

_A/N: I'm not dead! I am so sorry! I know it's been FOREVER and a day, and I apologize profusely for it! I have needed this time off just because my creative supply literally drained. Completely. It was pretty bad. But I'm not dead! And I'm sorry! But do be warned, it might be a while again before I update this story. :( I'm just not feeling it anymore. Maybe I need to do some Bleach-reading or watching..._

_This update actually took me over a week to write, if that tells you anything. It's still really short, and pretty stupid. Creative energy? What's that?_

_But you guys as always are amazing! I got a ton of reviews even during that time, and I can't stop thanking you for them! I love you all!_

_REVIEWS..._

**Moonstar2015-** Thanks so much! I will surely keep it up. :) Hopefully soon, too. :)

**Miku Alli-** Okay, I guess I won't turn you into a frog, haha. Well, now there I go not updating for almost 2 weeks... my reputation is ruined, lol.

**ChocoboMuffins-** Haha, there I go! Still, two weeks is better than never, right? And I plan on updating a lot more often now. :) Yes! I have actually started an AU story with IchiRuki. I haven't posted it yet because I'm not quite happy with it yet, but I'm working on one! :D

**Winter Knight-** Haha, that would be funny if he was a frog. But naw, I kept him as him. :)

**kanakokiriha-** Thanks! Haha, I've been a gushing fangirl for soo long... lol

**darklover-** Thanks so much! Glad you liked it!

**uryufangirl-** Yay for uniqueness! I'm glad you thought so. :) And I'm glad you liked it!

**Andr3w R0b3rts0n-** Haha, thanks! I don't like a lot of sap, but I like sap... sometimes I like a ton, but not to the cheesy level. :) I'll try to never stop writing, but who knows? If I have another bout of writer's block like what I just had... phew, that was bad. And I'd love to marry you! Haha, support 24/7 would be awesome. ;)

**curio cherry-** Thanks so much! I'm glad you liked it and thout it was sweet. :)

**blades of blood488-** Thank you! I'm so glad you liked it!

**LesleytheLion-** Well, when you like the pairing, feel free to read as much as you'd like! When you don't like it, too, because it's always nice to have readers. :) I understand what you mean, though. I get the same way with other couples. I've always been a die-hard IchiRuki fan, though. And grammar is my favorite! I wish more people on here used it. But there are enough that are spectacular that I'm happy. :) Thanks for the review!

**Rukia's Reflection-** Oh, don't worry about it! It's been a while to update. :) Thanks so much! I'm glad that you liked it!

**Disha5-** I always love it when the guy goes all goo-goo eyes for the girl... It makes me swoon. :) I'm glad you liked it! And look! Finally! An update! :D

_Thanks SO MUCH to all of you! You guys make my day. :D_

**REVIEW! Or I'll sic a vampire on you. Muah, ha, ha, ha!**


	37. Sex Talk

_A/N: No spoilers! Review, please!_

Disclaimer: I do own Bleach! That's right, you read that wrong.

SEX TALK

Rukia sighed heavily, looking towards Ichigo at his desk. When he didn't turn to look at her, she sighed again, louder this time. Still, Ichigo didn't move. This time she added a dramatic tone to her sigh.

Meanwhile, Ichigo was trying very, _very_ hard to ignore her. He knew that if he gave in and asked her what was wrong, it would spur a long conversation, and he was _almost_ at the end of _Hamlet._ If he could just hold her off until then-

His thoughts were interrupted by a loud, haughty sigh right by his ear. Rukia had gotten up from her place on his bed to stand right by him and pointedly sigh in his ear. He pursed his lips and tried to force his eyes to read the words on the page. When she did it again, though, he couldn't hold back his frustration.

"_WHAT?"_ he snapped, swinging his head to glare at her and slamming down his book.

Rukia smirked. "Sheesh, Ichigo, what's your problem?" Her smirk grew as the carrottop's eye twitched visibly. "I was just thinking."

"Think more quietly, then," he snipped harshly, picking his book back up and turning to his page.

No sooner had he found his spot than Rukia spoke again. "It's just that, well, what I was thinking about was in regards to you."

Ichigo sat down and, rubbing his temples, set his book back down on the desk. "What is it, Rukia?" he said wearily.

Rukia pushed a few things aside on his desk and, much to his dismay, sat down (more like jumped up) on it. "Well, you see, the girls and I were talking."

"Girls?"

"Oh, you know, Inoue-san, Tatsuki-san, Matsumoto-san, Yoruichi-san..."

Ichigo cringed. Nothing involving all of those people, particularly the two adult _perverts_ could ever, _ever_ be good.

"And they were all talking about turning men down." Rukia glanced at him at this point.

"Huh?"

Sighing, she continued. "You know, like for sex."

"WHAT?" Ichigo knew his face was bright red; he could feel the burn. But he didn't care. He had no idea where this was going, and he wasn't sure if he wanted to find out.

Rukia rolled her eyes. "Oh, please, Ichigo." She looked up to the ceiling again and went on. "Well, I got to thinking-"

"Which is _never_ a good thing," Ichigo put in.

Disregarding this except for a swift kick to his waist (the lowest part of him she could reach from her position.) "We're together, we're dating, right?"

It was Ichigo's turn to roll his eyes, still scowling and rubbing his waist. "No, Rukia, I hate you," he said sarcastically.

Rukia responded to this with another kick. "Well, I was wondering why you haven't asked me for sex yet." She looked at him expectantly.

If he had been taking a drink, at this point, Ichigo would've spit it out. Instead, his jaw dropped and he stared stupidly at Rukia for almost a full minute before she kicked him again, bringing him back to reality. His face turned red again, but whether it was from anger or embarrassment, neither teen knew.

"Well?" Rukia asked impatiently, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Well, uh, um, uh, wha-" he sputtered, then, "WHY DO YOU WANT TO KNOW THAT?"

The raven-headed shinigami sighed irritably again and looked him directly in the eyes. "Because all the boys pressure their girlfriends into sex. But you don't. And I want to know why. Matsumoto claims that you're gay and I'm just a cover up." Rukia's eyebrows furrowed and her bottom lip puckered out in a pout.

"I'm _not _gay!" Ichigo protested, vigorously shaking his hands. "I don't know _why_ I have to keep telling people that." He sighed and let his hands drop. Taking a glance at his girlfriend, he took a deep breath and put his head in his hands. "Rukia, I don't pressure you because I don't want to pressure you."

"Huh?"

"I don't want you to do anything you're not ready for. And seeing as you're rather, erm, old-fashioned," he gave her a pointed look, "I thought you might want to wait. And I'm totally cool with that." Dispite sounding like he was okay with the situation, Ichigo's face burned red as he spoke these words. Even with a girlfriend, he was still a prude when it came to some things.

Rukia looked taken aback by his explanation. "Oh. Well." She looked down at her shoes for a moment before looking back to him. "Well do you want to?"

Ichigo's eyes widened and his jaw dropped. "What?" he asked, his voice cracking.

"Do you want to have sex with me?" Rukia said slowly, as if he might understand better that way.

Ichigo's face progressed from red to purple as he realized what she was asking. "Rukia, do you know what s-s-s- _that_ is?"

Rukia smacked the back of his head and glared at him. "Idiot! Of course I know what sex is! It's when a man and a woman-"

"OKAY, OKAY, STOP RIGHT THERE!" Ichigo clamped a hand over her mouth and glared at her. "OW!" He withdrew his hand that she had just bitten and shook it out, scowling more deeply.

"That's what you get! Now answer my question!"

Instead of answering, though, Ichigo got up from his seat and flopped on the bed with his book and flipped it open.

"Ichigo! Do. You. Want. To. Have. Sex?" Rukia stood above him, arms crossed and eyes narrowed.

Finally, Ichigo threw down his book and sat up. "Of course I do, Rukia! Every teenage boy wants to have sex!" he shouted angrily. "That doesn't mean I _want_ to!"

After a moment of silence, Rukia spoke flatly. "Ichigo, that doesn't make any sense whatsoever."

He slumped back down on the bed and crossed his arms. "It'd make sense if you were a guy," he muttered irritably.

Rukia slowly made her way to sit beside him and laid a hand on his knee. "Ichigo, if you want to, ask me." Her eyes were wide and searching his, yet he refused to look at her.

Finally, he turned his head towards hers. "Rukia, why are you so curious all of the sudden?" He thought back to her explanation before of what she was "thinking." His eyes widened and he stood from the bed. Pointing at her accusingly, he shouted, "You just want to turn me down!"

"No, Ichigo!" Rukia protested, but her eyes said otherwise.

The orange-haired shinigami turned his back and crossed his arms. "I'm not going to ask you to, well, do _that_ if all you want to do is reject me!"

Rukia hurried over to his side and rested a small hand on his shoulder. "Ichigo, it's not exactly like that... I just... I want to fit in with my friends! And I'm just not ready for that, and judging by your reaction to the whole situation, neither are you." To add an element of pity, she sniffed loudly. "Please?"

"Why don't you just lie, then?" he asked sharply, turning to look at her and as a result, knocked her hand off his shoulder.

"I don't lie." Rukia looked straight into his eyes, and for a moment, it was silent. Then, both of them burst out laughing.

Once they had quieted down, Ichigo asked, "No, really, why?"

Rukia just shrugged. "It just... wouldn't be the same."

Nodding, Ichigo sat back down on the bed and stretched out. He lounged there, apparently thinking deeply. Finally, he sighed. "What do I get out of this deal?"

Smiling hopefully, Rukia sat beside him. "Um... a girlfriend?"

Ichigo rolled his eyes and grabbed Rukia around the waist and pulled her on top of him, tickling her wildly. She gasped and let out peals of laughter and shouts of protest until he stopped. She stayed on his stomach, their heads lined up (for once). He gently tucked a lock of hair behind her ear and said softly, "I thought I already had one of those... Or are you threatening me?" He raised an eyebrow at her.

Rukia gently punched his chest beneath her. "Of course not! But... it would just mean a lot to me if you would just _ask_ me." She looked down at him sheepishly and gave another smile.

Sighing, Ichigo propped himself up by his elbows. "Okay, okay." He looked her in the eye and hesitated. "But I'm only doing this to shut you up." Once she nodded to show she understood, he went on. "Rukia, will you have sex with me?"

"Yes."

A beat of silence followed, then, "WHAT?"

Rukia chuckled. "Just kidding! Nope!"

Glaring at her angrily, Ichigo pushed her off of him. "That was mean," he told her in a low voice. "Are you happy now?" he added when she just grinned up at him.

"Yes, thank you very much." She leaned forward and gave him a short peck on the lips before hopping off the bed. Ichigo's hand shot out and grabbed her wrist, dragging her back to lay beside him. Without warning, he began tickling her wildly, ignoring her screaming protests. When she was gasping for breath, Rukia finally managed to shove his hands away long enough to sit up and cross her arms over her stomach.

Glaring evily at him, she growled, "Don't _ever_ do that again!"

Ichigo merely laughed and pulled her into a hug and kissed the top of her head. "Whatever you say, Rukes."

"Don't call me that, either! It's weird." Though her words were harsh, she snuggled closer into his embrace.

"Hey, why does Renji get to call you that but I don't?" Ichigo asked and, offended, pulled slightly away from her.

Rukia punched him, hard, in the chest. "Duh, that's why, you idiot. Renji calls me that. You call me 'Midget.' It's how it's supposed to be."

Ichigo smirked at her and pulled her close to him again. "All right, Midget."

_And she was right; this is how it was supposed to be_, he thought and smiled before placing a kiss on her head again. _Exactly how it was supposed to be._

_A/N: Hellllllooooooo! How are all of you wonderful people? I'm fabulous. :)_

_So I just got a macbook, so as soon as I get iWork for it, I can't wait to start writing on it! Maybe I'll actually have spell check! (That's right, people, so far you've been reading stories by me with NO SPELL CHECK!) Anyway, I'll probably be more motivated to write on it because I love it so much. xD That's good news, right?_

_Thanks to all of you WONDERFUL, LOVELY, MAJESTIC PEOPLE! I love you so much! 13 reviews! GAHH! Amazing. :)_

**darklover-** Oh. My. Gosh. I freaking LOVE SPIKE! He is my absolute favorite vampire EVER. I love that show. xD And yeah, vamps from Twilight are kinda... not scary. At all. They're pretty pathetic. Haha. Thanks for the review!

**2coolforyou-** Ooh, thanks for the suggestion! I would love to do that! I need to get my creative part of my brain working, and I'll think of an idea! :D

**Miku Alli-** Bunnies, vampires, what's next? Haha. Rukia will always drive him nuts. It's in her job discription, haha.

**Mijumaruwott-** Thanks! I'm glad that you liked it and thought it was funny!

**ChocoboMuffins-** I have no idea, either, why people think Twilight is good. Ginny is SO MUCH better than Bella! I love Ginny. xD I love Harry Potter in general, but Ginny is my favorite. :) INFINITELY better. It's true.

**TruantPony-** I always appreciate Twilight bashing as well, so I figured I might as well! Haha. Oh my gosh, I know! Edward is the CREEPIEST being ever written about or for some reason, swooned over. If I were Bella and my father was a police chief, I'd scream till he came with a gun. O.O Too creepy. Thanks for the review! :)

**LesleytheLion-** Thanks for the advice! I should do that. :) I have a book of prompts, but I feel like they get me started and then I get stuck after the first paragraph. Haha. I'm glad you like this story! :)

**Winter Knight-** Twilight is so bad, just sayin'. Haha. I'm glad you liked the chapter! :)

**Disha5-** Completely dry juices, but then I had some apple juice and managed to get it out. Haha. I love the guy going for the girl any time, so I tend to write that a lot. :) It's just so darn cute!

**Andr3w R0b3rts0n-** Sparkly vampires are _scary._ I mean, what could you do to defend yourself? Wear sunglasses? That's just too difficult. Okay, sounds like a deal. :)

**uryufangirl-** Oh, trust me, I appreciate the word uber. Haha. It's a great word! And you used it in great context; Edward _IS_ uber creepy! Thanks! Glad you liked it! :)

**Rukia's Reflection-** Thanks so much! I'm glad you liked it! xD

**Mokimoki-chan-** (Your review for chapter 4, 'Memories') Thanks! Yeah, that one was pretty sad, haha. It almost made me cry writing it! Thanks for the review!

**REVIEW! Or... Um... I'll... Tickle you?**


	38. Reunions

_A/N: RUKIA IS BAACCKKKK! I am… so happy. If you have not read the newest chapter of the manga yet, DO IT NOW!_

_Her hair… is so short! I love it, though. It's just different._

_GAHH! She's BAACCKKKKK! I'm so happy._

_Anyway, I decided to write something for the happy reunion. XD Please review!_

_Oh, and spoilers up to the current chapter, 459. But I kinda gave it away already, so..._

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach. Tite Kubo does, and for a good reason! RUKIA IS BACK!

REUNIONS

That stupid Strawberry.

Didn't he know it was _me_ who was stabbing him? Hadn't we been through this before?

I saw his eyes squint in concentration, trying to see my form that was still fuzzy to him. My heart was racing; this was it. Finally, _finally_, he would look at me with his amber eyes again. I would finally feel his gaze on me. He would finally see my smile towards him and the fondness behind it.

It had been too long.

Everything froze, slowed down the second my form was solid enough for him to see.

Finally, I saw his eyes widen in recognition. I felt a small tug on the corner of my lips and allowed the smile to grace my features, if only slightly. I couldn't breath. _He can see me,_ I thought. It was all I _could_ think.

"…Rukia…!" His voice caught a little, and my heart fluttered. He was addressing me… for the first time in 17 months.

My smile only grew slightly in response. I couldn't find words enough to express what I was thinking. And honestly, I wasn't sure if words were necessary now.

His eyes took me in, my new hairstyle, my badge on my arm, my height. A lot had changed in 17 months.

I knew he couldn't turn since I had a sword sticking in him, but I longed to wrap my arms around him. And I also wanted to simply stare and be stared at forever, all at the same time.

Even though I could've watched him during that long year and a half, I often chose not to. It was painful to see him in pain, suffering because of me. After all, I was the one who gave him his powers, and in a way, I was the one who took them away. He wanted to protect me. It was because of his need to protect his loved ones and nothing else that he had used the last Getsuga Tensho.

And because it was too painful, because I didn't watch him, I had to take in his form just as much as he needed to take in mine. He was taller, his hair was longer, and his face looked more tired than I had ever seen it before. Everything else was the same. His vibrant orange hair, his amber eyes, even the hint of a scowl behind his shocked expression. His voice was the same, too, unless it was a tad deeper. It was difficult to concentrate; it was hard to do anything but stare. Stare and smile.

Then came the explosion. His reiatsu was everywhere at once, and I welcomed the overwhelming feel of it. I realized that I had missed its constant pressure and _warmth_. The explosion blocked my sight of him, but I could feel him, _finally_, and it was just as good a feeling.

He was back. I _am_ back.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

It couldn't be. I refused to believe it. I refused to let my hopes rise. And yet, I felt them rising despite my demands.

FInally, she came to view, and relief and anxiety flooded through me. It _was_ Rukia. Rukia, Rukia, Rukia. I repeated her name as a mantra through my head as if when I stopped, she'd disappear again. And I couldn't let that happen. Not ever again. It would kill me.

I couldn't speak, couldn't get anything out of my tight throat. Her eyes simply looked at me, full of emotion that I couldn't quite interpret. My jaw fell open and I let a single shocked word tumble out. "…Rukia…!" My voice caught in my throat and it sounded strangled consequently. Finally, I could read the look in her eyes. Relief. With a tad of smugness. Stupid Midget.

After the original recognition, I began to notice things: her hair was shorter, making her look older, more mature. It looked good that way. I couldn't help but miss her old hair, though; that's how I'd always known her to be. Having her hair cut made it evident that her life went on without mine. I snapped my attention from her hair and looked to her arm. Wrapped around it was a badge. Pride filled me suddenly as I realized that she'd been promoted. I always knew she could do it. If I wasn't still in shock, I'd've smirked at her. Or maybe, given the circumstances, it would call for an actual smile. Finally, I realized that she wasn't as short as she used to be. Still short, still a midget. Still _my_ midget. But not mistakable for a twelve-year old anymore.

No, the Rukia standing behind me was a _woman, _through and through.

And holy cow, she was beautiful.

She was smiling slightly up at me, her eyes taking in my appearance. I felt my ego rise when I saw her smile twitch in appreciation, but I pushed it off and disregarded my observation. I was probably wrong, anyway.

She didn't say anything, didn't move. She only stood there, looking at me, her soul cutter stuck in my chest. I wanted to pull it out so I could turn to her completely, to look at her head-on. But I didn't want to lose my powers again, the powers that she was giving back to me. If I did, I wouldn't be able to see her again. And that was simply unbearable.

I refused to let my mind tell me the reason for it being unbearable. I knew it deep down in my gut somewhere, but I didn't want to complicate things. Not my friendship with Rukia. My best friend.

Suddenly, the air around us exploded. I could feel it coming back, all of my shinigami powers. I felt relief and strength and anxiety all at the same time. And distress, because the clouds of smoke blocked my view of Rukia. I didn't want to let her out of my sight, because if I did, she might never come back. And I could not handle that. The past 17 months were torture enough.

But now, things were going to get better. Life was going to get easier. Rukia was back, my best friend was back home with me, where she belongs. One look at her and I knew:

The rain stopped.

_A/N: I am aware that there are 5 billion of these coming out right now, but how could I _not_? Seriously. It's RUKIA. And she's BACK. And she looks like a WOMAN. Which means that perhaps… Ichigo will notice? Please, Kubo! Make it happen!_

_Anyway, OH MY GOSH I LOVE YOU ALL SO MUCH! 199 reviews for this story! :D That makes me seriously SO happy. You guys are the BEST. And I mean that, 100%._

_Stay awesome. :D_

_REVIEWS!_

**Mijumaruwott-** Haha, got ya! And here's an update, so early! Hurray!

**ChocoboMuffins-** Haha, sorry about that! At least I didn't make it go into much… detail, haha. The idea popped into my head and I just wrote it down, so, yeah...

**Miku Alli-** Oh, well, usually I make the "threats" related to the chapter, and I kinda felt awkward trying to find one for that chapter. Haha. I think everyone enjoys their pet names occasionally. :D

**arrancar125-** (Your review for chapter 1, 2, and 6) Aw, thanks so much! That means so much to me; you're so sweet! I'm glad you liked it so far!

**Moonstar2015-** Haha, death by sparkles! We can't protect ourselves against them, can we? I mean, what are we supposed to do to defend ourselves? It's a mystery, haha. Rukia would, right? Haha, glad you liked it!

**Bree Renee-** Haha, sorry! Look! Another update really early! Yay! You have Kubo Tite to thank for that. ;)

**2coolforyou-** Thanks for having faith in me! Glad you liked this chapter. Thanks for the review!

**curio cherry-** Oh, my that would certainly be interesting… I don't think I could write that if I tried, haha. Glad you liked this chapter! And simple and fun is what I do best. ;)

**darlover-**__Rukia has always been too concerned with fitting in, haha. Spike is just a great character in general, but I love him with Buffy. More than Angel, any day. I mean, Angel didn't want Buffy when he didn't have a soul, yet Spike went and GOT a soul for her because he loved her. He's just the best. And he's hilarious. Yeah, my brother was telling me about the comics, but I haven't read them. He kept trying to tell me that Spike doesn't die, but I have to let him die. Even though he comes back as a sort-of ghost in Angel, but that's better than just not being dead. I just thought it had a good ending and didn't need any more. So I haven't read any of them, but maybe I will sometime. My brother keeps trying to convince me. He does that a lot, and usually I gain a new favorite (*cough, obsession, cough*) when I listen to him, haha.

**Winter Knight-** Glad you liked it and found it funny! Yay for macbook pros! I love mine, its name is Celia. And I love that I can update without having to plug it in, as it was with my old computer. It was a pain to lug it downstairs to get internet access. Celia is much better. :D

**Night-Iris-**__(Your review to chapter 36) Haha, I know! NOT YOU, RUKIA! I kept battling between her loving them or hating them. I could see her go either way. In the end, I just had her objectively believe them, haha.

**Andr3w R0b3rst0n-** It certainly was! Haha (you were almost right, just an "i" missing, but who's counting?) Okay, I won't tickle you since you reviewed. xD Rukia simply rejected him because she wanted to tell her buddies that she turned him down. :) Cookies make everything better. Always. Unless you're me and don't like cookies (besides no-bakes, mmmmm).

**REVIEW! Or I will bribe Kubo to take away Rukia again! Except for me, because I love her too much. ;)**


	39. Hating Buffy

_This one is for all my BTVS fans out there. ^.^_

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach. Or Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Man, my life sucks!

HATING BUFFY

Ichigo pushed the button on the remote belonging to the t.v. in his and Rukia's apartment. The midget was in their bedroom reading some stupid manga and he was bored, so he thought what the heck? Might as well catch up on the latest pop culture.

It became apparent fairly quickly, however, as he flipped through multiple channels, that there was nothing _to_ watch. Nothing good, anyway. Glee was on, but he changed the channel as fast as he could before Rukia would be able to tell; she was obsessed. Not as much as with Chappy, but Ichigo didn't have to worry about that too much, seeing as he knew the only channel the cursed bunny appeared on and purposefully skipped over it.

_Maybe Dad was right for once,_ Ichigo thought, surprised that his father could do anything right. _We really do need cable._

Finally giving up, he set down the remote and picked up the one controlling the DVD player. "Rukia!" he called to their bedroom, "I'm starting Buffy!"

Although he would _never_ tell _anyone_ that he was a Buffy fan (the name was the only embarrassing part of it… and the special effects… and the first couple episodes… but that was besides the point), he was truly a huge supporter. He had been watching it with Rukia for the past couple months since she hadn't seen it before. They had an unspoken agreement that neither one would tell Renji or Ishida or (in Rukia's case; Ichigo could care less) Byakuya.

Ichigo had really begun to enjoy these nights with her, curled up under the covers on the couch while watching (quite possibly) his favorite show ever. Since Rukia hadn't really been exposed much to modern day theories and legends, she often got frightened during the show, which secretly pleased Ichigo even more; it gave him yet another reason to cuddle her close. Plus, Rukia had recently told him that he was similar to Spike, his all-time favorite character, and although she meant it as a kind of insult ("You're both moody and rude and arrogant!"), he couldn't help but feel his ego boost to unmentionable limits.

When Rukia didn't appear in the doorway after a few minutes, Ichigo got impatient and called for her again, this time threatening to start it without her. He listened intently for the sound of running feet, but when he heard none, he started to feel worried. Was she hurt? Is that why she wasn't responding?

He stood quickly and walked cautiously to the bedroom door. He knocked once, but heard no answer, so he shoved the door open with force and scanned the room for signs of blood or hollows… And found none. His eyes rested on his wife, who was calmly flipping a page in her manga.

"Hey, Ichigo," she said nonchalantly, not bothering to give him even a glance.

Even before he blew, he could feel the anger bubbling up inside him and knew his face was turning red and some blood vessels were sticking out. He tried to keep his mouth shut, but the words came bursting out of him within a few seconds. "RUKIA! DO YOU KNOW HOW WORRIED I WAS? YOU HAVE TO ANSWER ME WHEN I CALL YOU, IDIOT!"

"Sheesh, calm down, Strawberry," the raven-haired shinigami said with a roll of her eyes. "You'll wake the whole neighborhood up."

Ichigo let out a low growl and hit the manga out of Rukia's hands.

She sat stone still for a moment before turning to her husband and giving him a menacing glare. "You. Lost. My. Place," she said through clenched teeth.

"Forgive me," he said sarcastically, bowing and giving her the finger simulatiously.

"YOU… YOU…! YOU PIG-BRAINED, IGNORANT, SELFISH FOOL! YOU COMPLETE AND UTTER JERK!"

"DON'T TALK TO ME ABOUT SELFISH, MIDGET! I WAS CALLING YOU FOR FIVE MINUTES AND-"

"IT WAS _NOT_ FIVE MINUTES! YOU CALLED ME TWICE!"

"OH, SO YOU _DID_ HEAR ME? AND YOU _CHOSE _TO IGNORE ME? WELL, THAT'S JUST DANDY!"

The couple exchanged heated glares, arms crossed, for a full minute after the yelling stopped. Then, against her will, Rukia's lip twitched upwards and she let out a small giggle.

Ichigo's eyes narrowed further still and he barked, "What?"

Half a second later, Rukia began full out laughing uncontrollably. Trying to catch her breath, she managed to squeak out, "D-d-d-d-dandy?" Another peal of laughter escaped her lips.

"Oh, shut up," Ichigo growled, tightening his arms over his chest and turning his head away. He couldn't help the small lift of his lips, though.

Rukia stood up and sauntered over to him, snaking an arm around his shoulders and leaning in to whisper in his ear, "Lighten up, Strawberry."

Even though she was his wife, Ichigo still felt heat rise in his face at her movements. His shoulders tensed up and he furrowed his eyebrows in an attempt to look angrier than he was both excited and embarrassed. "Go away, Midget."

She completely ignored him, instead putting her lips to his neck and driving him absolutely crazy. "What did you want?" she murmured as she pressed her lips to his tensed muscles again.

"Uh-du-um-well-uh-STOP THAT!" he stuttered.

He felt her hot breath on his neck as she chuckled. "I love that I can still make you nervous." She gave him one last long, slow kiss on his jaw before pulling away and sitting on the bed in front of him. "What did you want?" she asked again, this time looking at him attentively and openly.

It took a moment for him to shake off his stunned hotness and answer her. "Uh," he started, scratching the back of his neck awkwardly. "I'm gonna start Buffy. You in?"

Rukia huffed and turned her head away, crossing her arms over her small chest. "No."

"What? Why?"

"I hate that show," she replied, glaring at nothing in particular.

Completely confused, Ichigo let his hand drop. "What? Since when? I thought you loved it!"

Eyes still narrowed, she looked back to him. "That was then."

"Well what the heck changed?"

Rukia sighed and let her arms fall to her sides, as if she felt defeated. "Well, to begin with, I liked Angel, and now he's gone."

Ichigo felt his jaw drop slightly. "Angel's a pansy." When he saw that this didn't appease her, he sighed and allowed _one_ spoiler to be known to her. "What if I told you he comes back?"

Giving only a small shrug, Rukia sighed again dramatically. "That's not all."

"Enlighten me."

"Well, I _really_ hate that Anya chick."

"What? She's one of the funniest characters!" Ichigo said defensively. Anya was one of his personal favorites. She was witty, funny, attractive, and somewhat like Rukia. She was new to the human world and delighted (or was disgusted) in many of the human traditions, she was hot, and she was smart. The only thing that contrasted completely with the petite shinigami in the room was her hatred for… Oh. Duh.

"Rukia, are you freaking serious right now?" Ichigo complained loudly.

The woman glared at her husband darkly and felt her voice raise. "She hates BUNNIES! Little CHAPPIES! How could anyone be so cruel?"

Ichigo made himself take a deep breath before responding. "Rukia, that's what's so funny about her. She hates something unhateable. Something…" the words were hard for him to say, "cute and… fluffy?"

"I hate her."

"I gathered that much," he said sarcastically before sighing and sitting down beside his wife. "Can't you just… hate her the way I hate Chap-" He was cut off mid-sentence by the glare of unmeasurable proportions the small woman was giving him. "…I mean… the way I hate Dawn?"

Rukia shook her head defiantly.

"What if… we skip all of the parts with her in it?" Ichigo finally suggested, unable to think of anything else.

Big, violet eyes looked up at him hopefully. "You mean it?" she asked like a little kid asking for a lollipop.

Ichigo couldn't help the small smile that made its way onto his face. "I mean it," he assured her gently.

Without warning, the air was being squeezed out of him by a woman less than half his size. "Thank you so much, Ichigo!"

He patted her head in what might've seemed to be a reassuring way, but it was actually an attempt to get her off of him. "N-no problem," he gasped.

"C'mon, then, Strawberry! I'm not waiting on you anymore!" Rukia said before running out of the room and starting the next episode.

Chuckling, Ichigo followed, grabbing a blanket on his way out. The next episode, if he was remembering correctly, was creepy. He knew they'd need something to hide under.

_A/N: Voila! So I'm sorry if you're not familiar with BTVS. It's a great show, and I recommend it completely! As usual, it's something my brother got me into, haha. He gets me into EVERYTHING. You can thank him for getting me into Bleach, too. ANYWAYS…_

_No, I did not make Anya or her hatred for bunnies up. Completely Joss Whedon there. Or someone working with him. But it is one of the funniest parts of the show. And besides that _major_ difference, Rukia and Anya are truly quite similar. As are Spike and Ichigo. They're both my favorite characters, too! Haha. :D Oh, and yeah, I'm not a huge fan of Angel. Spike all the way, oh yeah!_

_Anyway, sorry again if you didn't completely understand what was going on. I tried to put a little in there that didn't really need extra information (i.e. argument and seductive Rukia) for all of you who don't watch the brilliant show that is Buffy. Which you should. Right now. GO!_

_As always, thanks SO, SO, SO, SO, SO, SO much to my wondrous reviewers! Even if it only takes a second or is two words, please review! It really means the world to me!_

_I stayed up late to finish this for you guys, so be grateful! Haha._

_REVIEWS…_

**Mijumaruwott-** Thanks so much! Kudos for catching that, haha. :) Thanks for reading and reviewing!

**2coolforyou-** WOOOO! I'm not kidding, haha. Thanks for reading!

**darklover-** Thanks! I still haven't decided whether or not I like Rukia's hair (I'm leaning towards yes…ish, haha), but I really like her new shinigami robes and her VC badge! And her gloves… I think Kubo did a pretty good job there. Haha, BTVS chapter! It just popped in my head and I _had_ to. ;D But anyway, I actually never finished Angel. I didn't even see most of it… When BTVS was over, I went and watched the episodes with Spike in it… Haha, I'm so stupidly obsessed with Spike. But I haven't read any of the comics, but I don't think I want to. It sounds like Joss should've just let it be where it was.

**ChocoboMuffins-** Haha, I know! SOO exciting! I was so ready for her to be back. ^.^ Oh, man, I skipped all of the filler Bleach episodes. I just wanted to get to what Kubo had written… the rest of it was too slow for me.

**curio cherry-** I know, it's hilarious how many people have put their celebratory chapters up of the reunion! She looks awesome! I wasn't (and am still not completely) sure about her hair at first and actually mourned the loss of her iconic style, but I'm starting to like it. The rest of her just gets me so excited! Ah, can't wait! Thanks for reading and reviewing!

**Winter Knight-** Haha, I know, right? It's so awesome! Thanks for your encouragement and your review!

**Miku Alli-** Honestly, I don't think I could cope without Rukia again either. Haha. Thanks so much! And I love all those stories, too. They make me feel warm and fuzzy inside. ^.^

**hinataellis-** Yay for Rukia! Soooo excited!

**shayerasaiyo-** HURRAY FOR RUKIA BEING BACK! And thanks so much! You are too kind. :) (I'm blushing, haha)

**TruantPony-** I know, I'm not sure if it's physically possible _not_ to write a drabble for this reunion. :D

**LittlOtaku-Chan-** RUKIA! Yay! Oh, I hope so; Rukia isn't Rukia unless she's in Ichi's closet. Haha. And thanks for reading and reviewing!

**Andr3w R0b3rts0n-** Haha, don't feel awkward at all! I'm glad you told me, that way I can change it for the future. I'd seen it different ways, so I wasn't sure, but now I know! ^.^ Arigato! Thanks so much! And by the way, the email didn't show up! :( Too bad. I think you might just need to leave off the .com. ;)

**Disha5- ** Oh, don't worry, if anyone's a prude, it might just be me. That's about as far as I can go down that alley. Haha. And I'm glad you liked both chapters! Thanks for the reviews!

**Wasp-** A boy, huh? Haven't heard that one yet. Haha. But I see where you're coming from. Yumichika looks very girlish, so you never know with Kubo, haha. Thanks! And thanks for reading and reviewing!

**Anonymous-** Thanks so much! I'm glad you liked it! :D (You didn't leave a name, so I referred to you as anonymous. :D)

**REVIEW! Or I will forever hate your favorite animal. (I know it's a lame threat, yeah, yeah…)**


	40. The Wedding Day: Part 1

_A/N: Continuation of "Blessings," "The Proposal," "Moving In," and "Secrets." FINALLY! Haha. :) Enjoy! No spoilers. Oh, and PLEASE review!_

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Bleach. If I did, the art would consist of stick figures.

THE WEDDING DAY: PART 1

Rukia woke pleasantly that morning, stretching her hands above her head and yawning. She looked over to the side of the bed belonging to Ichigo, only to find it empty and cold. Rukia paid no mind, however, and assumed that he had simply gotten up for work already and hadn't bothered to wake her as he left. Not that she was complaining; sleeping in was one of her favorite things to do. Getting out of the bed, she glanced at the clock on her bedside table. It read 9:30 am. _Huh, _she thought. _I don't usually wake up so early if I have any say about it._ She was well aware that 9:30 wasn't exactly early, but seeing as she normally would wake around 11, she was surprised.

Yawning again, Rukia shuffled lazily down the hallway, nearly running into various objects. When she finally made it to the kitchen, she grabbed a box of cereal and poured some in a bowl. As she made her way to the fridge, she hit the answering machine's button to repeat her messages.

"_You have three new messages,_" it said as she pulled the milk out of the fridge and started back to her bowl of cereal.

"_Hey, Rukia-chan! I just wanted to let you know that Uryuu fixed that tear in your dress last night and not to worry about it any more because he's brilliant and oh-so handsome and great at sewing-"_

"_Orihime, that's enough, she gets the picture,"_ Rukia heard Ishida say in the back round, practically seeing his bright red blush.

"_Right, sorry. Anyway, it's fixed and you'll be fine. Also, I wanted to tell you about my dream last night! It started off with six evil badgers with fangs that were all trying to eat us..."_

As Inoue continued, Rukia zoned out and put the milk back in the fridge. What dress? Oh, well, Ishida fixed it, so no need to worry about it. She happily sat down at the counter and began eating her cereal.

"_Isn't that weird?"_ Inoue finished telling about her dream, claiming Rukia's attention again. _"Anyway, I suppose I'll see you later today when I bring your dress around. I'm so excited! Bye!"_

Rukia only had a brief moment to wonder why Inoue was excited, in the end figuring it was because she was a very excitable girl, before she heard a _beep_ and the next message started.

"_Rukia, I am calling to tell you that I will be arriving in the living world at exactly 1:00 in the afternoon with Ukitake and other subordinates. I expect to be picked up, seeing as I have no desire to try to find everyone. I will see you then."_ In the back round, Rukia heard her captain yell out, _"Congratulations, Rukia!"_ before her brother hung up.

_Congratulations?_ she wondered, confused. She lowered her spoon from her mouth as the realization began to dawn on her. _A dress... Nii-sama coming to visit... Ichigo missing..._ Before she could reach her final conclusion consciously, the answering machine _beeped_ again and Ichigo's voice was heard.

"_Oi, Midget."_ She could practically _hear_ the scowl in his voice. _"Since you wouldn't let me sleep at out place last night and made me sleep at Renji and Tatsuki's because of some stupid superstition, I forgot my shoes there. So either get over the 'bad luck' thing or send them over with Ishida when he drops off your dress." _His voice gained a softness as he wrapped up his message. _"I love you and I can't wait to marry you today. Better not be late. Idiot,"_ he added for good measure. _"See you at 2:30 on the dot. Love ya."_

Forget lowering her spoon, she completely dropped it with a clatter as she heard his message. She was getting _married_ today. _How_ had she forgotten? Her dress had been torn during the rehearsal dinner _last night_ and she had been stressing about it despite Ishida's constant reassurances that he would be able to fix it. Inoue, Tatsuki, Yuzu, and Karin were all going to come over at 11:30 to help her get ready to walk down the aisle. Byakuya was coming with half of Soul Society's shinigami in tow that afternoon and he was to give her away. And _Ichigo!_ She had told him he couldn't sleep at their apartment the night before because he had heard that it was bad luck for the groom to see the bride before the wedding, and she was not going to risk a thing. He had been so irritated but eventually had agreed, probably just so that she didn't drag him out into the street and lock the door while he was sleeping (don't think she didn't threaten to). All of these things had just happened the night before, _how_ had she forgotten about them?

Rukia scrambled from her chair, leaving her half-eaten cereal on the counter, and ran to the bathroom. She came to a stop in front of the mirror. Her deep violet eyes were wide with surprise and the sudden bout of nerves she acquired. Her skin was pale as she tried to breath normally. When she failed, she all but fell over as she threw up in the toilet.

"GOOD MORNING, ICHIGO!" Renji and Tatsuki shouted in unison as the barged into their friend's room for the night, nearly knocking down the door in the process.

Ichigo cursed and sat up suddenly. "WHAT THE HECK? IS EVERYONE IN THE WORLD AGAINST ME WAKING UP WITHOUT THE SOUND OF SCREAMS?" he yelled, referring to his father's insane antics and Rukia's habit of shouting about someone 'killing the rabbits' in her sleep.

Renji grinned. "No, your dad just told us to do that since you refused to stay there and let him do it."

"You can't really expect us _not_ to, baka," Tatsuki added before grabbing her boyfriend's hand. Renji smiled down at her.

"You guys are idiots," Ichigo grumbled irritably.

"Anyway," Tatsuki began cheerily- a little _too_ cheerily, in Ichigo's opinion- "breakfast is ready. Come on out."

"And dude," Renji added as they both slipped through the door. "You're getting married today! Enjoy your last few hours of freedom!"

That's right. He was getting married today. To Rukia. Against his will, a huge grin spread across his face as he thought about it. He threw his covers off of him and swung his legs off the bed. Glancing over at his tux that was hanging on the closet door, his grin only grew. He couldn't _wait_ to see Rukia in her dress. Holy _crap_, he was getting married today!

Suddenly, he smacked his forehead as he realized that he forgot his shoes at the apartment he shared with Rukia.

Naturally, it was the stupid midget's fault for forcing him to stay at Renji and Tatsuki's instead of spending another glorious night with her. Yes, it was her fault he forgot his shoes. Not his at _all,_ he decided. Grumpy again, he grabbed his cell phone and flipped it open, hitting the speed dial to his home number. _Of course she's not awake yet, _he thought, rolling his eyes. He left a quick message and left the room, flipping the phone closed with one hand and lazily tossing it onto the bed.

He was greeted by the smell of pancakes and sausage as he walked out the door to the guest room. Renji and Tatsuki were already seated at the table, the former shoving huge bites of pancake into his mouth before turning at the sound of a door closing and waving. "Hewwo, Itsygo!"

Ichigo rolled his eyes and plopped down in the third chair, in the processes grabbing a pancake and tossing it onto his plate.

"Sheesh, Ichigo, you took forever," Tatsuki commented, raising an eyebrow. "Decide not to get married?"

"Che. Whatever," the orange-haired shinigami said with another roll of his eyes. "Just needed to call Rukia."

"Aw, did widdle Itsygo mish hish girlfwiend?" Renji mocked, mouth still overflowing with pancakes.

Besides a swift punch to the vice captain's arm, Ichigo ignored the mocking and simply answered the question. "I forgot my shoes at our apartment. I was just calling to ask her to give them to Ishida for when he comes by."

The couple nodded in understanding and a comfortable silence fell over them. After a few minutes of this, Renji shoveled some more breakfast into his abnormally large mouth before he asked, "Are you nerwus?"

Ichigo shook his head, then nodded. "No, yes, I mean, I don't know." He sighed. "I'm more excited than nervous."

Again, the two nodded in agreement before Tatsuki spoke up. "I know what you mean; that's how I always felt before a competition."

"This isn't a competition, Tatsuki, and you will _not_ be doing any karate."

"I know, dolt," she said, smacking Ichigo over the head. "I was just saying I know how you feel."

The three finished up breakfast and Ichigo excused himself to go to the bathroom and take a shower. As he stood beneath the warm water, he felt the butterflies in his stomach wake up from their slumber. It was slowly hitting him-hard. He was getting married. He would never be single again, even after death. He was going to be nagged and hit and yelled at by one tiny midget for the rest of his existence. There was no going back after today.

He smiled at the thought.

_A/N: It's about time I got off my lazy but and wrote something for this mini series! Or anything at all... I've been very lazy lately. I have a billion ideas written down, but alas, I am too lazy to make them into any valid stories. Until now! Hurray!_

_Anyway, I hope you liked it. It will be the first part in a trilogy probably. It is the continuation of the others, like I said in the very beginning, but it'll have its own little trilogy thingy since it's in three parts. When the next part will come out, I have no idea... heh heh... I love you... ^.^_

_Thanks to my wonderful readers! I am so glad that people read this series of one-shots and like them! Thanks to all of those who favorited it or are following it. And, as always, thanks to my FABULOUS reviewers! You guys get all the love (and cookies). You never cease to amaze me. ^.^ I love you guys so much._

_Here's the replies to your marvelous reviews..._

**2coolforyou-** Thanks! I'm glad you liked it! And here's an update (finally!) Thanks for reading!

**darklover-** I thought Ichigo and Spike were pretty similar, too, haha. And I was surprised at the similarities between Anya and Rukia... I wasn't going to say anything about it until I realized how similar they are. Yeah, his being taller, while it does make me happy since it's just showing him maturing, doesn't make a whole lot of difference to me, either. I was happy with the changes Kubo put in because since we have to wait (for too long in my opinion!) it was nice to dissect her appearance and infer a few things. :)

**curio cherry-** Buffy is one of my favorites! Haha. Yeah, that's the fourth season, which (in my opinion) is one of the worst ones. I recommend it if you're interested. And I thought Ichigo and Spike were similar in their attitudes, not everything. But Spike comes back later (and I love him. Haha) and they're a little similar in other ways, too, then. Thanks for the review!

**Winter Knight-** Thanks! I love Buffy, so I _had_ to say something about it, especially when this idea popped in my head.

**ChocoboMuffins-** Glad you liked it! Buffy is awesome (I think). I had my reservations about it until my brother forced me to watch it... and now it's one of my favorites. ^.^

**Rukia's Reflection-** Yay! Rukia's back! I was so excited. I'm just glad no one saw my reaction... I might've lost a few friends... or family, haha. I'm glad you liked the chapters! Thanks for reviewing!

**Moonstar2015-** Oh. My. GOSH! That is a BRILLIANT idea! I will definitely be writing that one. :D And I never really got into Angel, but I love Buffy. But I'm glad you got some of it. I was a bit worried that some people wouldn't really understand what I was talking about... :)

**Lunacat13-** Thanks! Yeah, I know he overreacted a bit. :) He's a nut, and I'm a writer that needs to exaggerate things in order to speed the story along (or I'll never get it where I want it) haha. :) Thanks for the review!

**Andr3w R0b3rts0n-** Haha! Well, she thinks that they're evil and stuff... I don't know. She's weird. Haha. Thanks so much! And your email finally showed up! Expect an email soon. ^.^ And so long as your reviews are there and as epic as they are now, I don't mind them being same-y. Don't cry! I'll keep writing. ;D

**DarkbladerX666-** Haha! It's not that I don't _like_ Angel, I just don't like him. Erm, well, I mean, I think he's too Edward-Cullen-y for my taste. I know he came first, so I try to like him. And I used to LOVE him. But then Spike came along... sigh. And I just realized that Spike is better. But Angel is cool, he's just not my favorite. :) And yay, update! Thanks for reviewing! ;D

**LittleOtaku-Chan-** Yay, I updated again (finally, haha). Chappy is wonderful! I don't know how anyone would hate him. :( I'm glad you thought it was cute! Hurray! Thanks so much for the review!

**ArchShadow24-** Thanks for reading! And for reviewing! I'm glad you like my stuff. As for your question, I LOVE that pairing! I don't know if I'll ever write any about them... I've never written anything but IchiRuki... So I'd have to spend a lot of time with their characters. But I absolutely ADORE that pairing! I will have to try some time to write a one-shot for them. ^.^

**Miku Alli-** Haha, yeah, I totally did. Hopefully this time's threat will be better, haha. I totally recommend the show, if you're up for it. I'm glad you liked the chapter anyways! Thanks for reviewing, and as always, I really, really appreciate it!

**Plague-** Haha, Update! That made me smile. ^.^

**rucHicHan-** Oh, man, I do that every time I come into a story late, don't worry about it. ;) I'm just thankful you reviewed at all! Yay! Yeah, _Memories_ made me tear up writing it... I'm glad you liked it! And that's awesome! That makes me so happy! I'm glad I helped bring back your Bleach muse! And I'll keep writing until someone kicks me off. ;D _Number One _was actually the only one I showed my brother... (I don't show him any of these because he'd make fun of me. I didn't want him to know I wrote fanfics at all...) It's definitely one of my favorites. ^.^ Haha, that's funny, because for the most part, family-related stories are my least favorite to write because I just feel like I'm not going anywhere with them. Unless a really good idea pops in my head, I only write them if someone suggests or requests them. Hahahaha! Byakuya would totally do that! :D Thanks for the wonderful long review! I love those. ;D Thanks for reading and liking! :)

_Thanks again to all of those wonderful people out there that read and review! I love you all!_

**REVIEW! Or I'll make you sit through 20 years of Inoue telling you her dreams. Muahahahaha!**


	41. Bubble Wrap

_A/N: No spoilers! Please review! ;)_

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach. Cinderella lied when she said that dreams come true.

BUBBLE WRAP

_Pop!_

Ichigo took a deep breath before lowering his pencil to paper again and began writing.

_Pop!_

He jumped slightly, causing his pencil to draw a line across his homework. He hurried to erase it, scowling darkly as he did so.

_Pop!_

Besides an eye twitch and a deeper scowl, Ichigo tried to ignore the sound that was plaguing his bedroom.

_Pop!_

"THAT'S IT!" Ichigo yelled, slamming down his pencil and making the raven-haired girl on his bed to jump in surprise. "CUT THAT OUT!"

"What's your problem, Strawberry?" she asked irritably, heart still racing from his outburst.

Ichigo pointed at her dramatically. "YOU ARE! YOU AND THAT STUPID GOD-FORSAKEN STUFF YOU HAVE!"

"Bubble wrap?" Rukia asked happily. "It's so entertaining, Kurosaki-kun!" she added in the voice he hated.

"Well take it to your closet or something! And don't talk to me like that, Midget!" he spat.

"Jerk," Rukia muttered under her breath with a glare before setting down the bubble wrap carefully on his bed. "I'll just stop!"

"Good!"

"Fine!"

They glared at each other for another moment before awkwardly turning back to their respective tasks- Ichigo doing his (and her) homework and Rukia lounging lazily on his bed. However, simply laying on a bed gets rather boring before too long, so she grabbed a manga.

The bubble wrap seemed to be staring at her, calling to her. She was constantly distracted by it and shooting it longing glances. Now that she had fun with it once, she never wanted to stop. It was too tempting. _Just one more,_ she thought with a sly smile. _He won't even notice._

_Pop!_

"RUKIA!" Ichigo screamed, swiveling around in his chair and glaring at her menacingly.

The petite shinigami was now holding onto the bubble wrap protectively and looking up at him with a look of utter surprise. After a moment, though, her expression changed, and she donned a smirk. Keeping eye contact with Ichigo, she took her fingers and gingerly snapped another bubble, then another, then another.

_Pop, pop, pop, pop!_

With each pop, the darkness in Ichigo's face grew before at last, he jumped up and ripped it from her hands- at least, he thought he did.

"AHA!" he shouted victoriously, swinging the sheet behind his back. His eyes scanned the bed for Rukia, and for a moment he was utterly confused. Then he heard it.

_Pop!_

He swung his hands around again to see Rukia hanging off of the other end of the bubble wrap, feet dangling in the air and smirk laughing at him silently.

"Why you-" Ichigo shook his hands, still holding to the bubble wrap, hoping to get her off. After several unsuccessful attempts, however, he set her feet back on the ground and tried to rip the sheet from her.

Rukia was laughing now, mocking him. She still clutched the bubble wrap as if her life depended on it. He growled and, still holding on, slammed her down on the bed.

"Give. It. To. Me. Midget!" he said darkly, climbing on top of her and trying to grab the source of torture but failing every time.

Rukia reached up and punched his jaw when he managed to grab onto the bubble wrap once. They began to fight tooth and nail for it, no sound emitting from them except frustrated grunts and growls.

After a full five minutes of this, they both sprung apart as Ichigo's door was burst open.

"CONGRATULATIONS, IIIIIICHIGO!" Isshin sang as he waltzed in the room, holding something behind his back suspiciously. "You are becoming a man today! Don't let me stop you!"

"Wh-WHAT? You stupid old fart-face! We're not-"

"I just wanted to remind you to be safe and give you these!" He brought out what he was hiding behind his back and handed it to Ichigo merrily. "HAVE FUN AND MAKE ME LOTS OF GRANDBABIES!" he shouted before skipping out of the room.

Rukia stared after him for a moment before mumbling something about crazy people under her breath and turning to look at Ichigo. The bubble wrap lay forgotten between them on the bed. "What did he give you?" she asked, crawling over to sit next to him.

Ichigo's face went bright red and he quickly stood up. "N-NOTHING!" he stuttered, moving the mystery item behind his back and avoiding eye contact with the girl. "Just, uh, j-just go play some more with your b-bu-bubble wrap or something!" he snapped.

Rukia shrugged. "Whatever." She picked the sheet up and popped a few bubbles, but soon got bored. It wasn't as much fun without him getting annoyed with her over it. "Ichigo, what do you have behind your back? What did he give you?" She stood and, up on her tiptoes, tried to peer around his large shoulders.

"I SAID IT'S NOTHING!" Ichigo shouted, his face turning even more red. Rukia sat back down on his bed in shock and quietly turned back to the manga she had been attempting to read earilier. He shuffled over to his desk and when he thought she wasn't looking, dropped something in the trash. He sat still for another moment, staring at the trash can and face still beet red. Nervously fidgeting, he finally reached over and dumped some paper on top of the suspicious object.

Trying in vain to focus on his homework, Ichigo couldn't stop fidgeting. Suddenly, he shot straight up. "I'm going to take the trash out," he declared.

"...Okay then..." Rukia said with a raised eyebrow. _Whatever his dad gave him has really got his panties in a bunch,_ she thought.

When he finally returned, Rukia turned back to the source of all the trouble. A couple pops later, Ichigo rolled his chair over to the bed, snatched the sheet from her hands, set it on the floor, and promptly stomped on the whole thing, causing all of the bubbles to be popped instantly. He unceremoniously handed the deflated sheet over to Rukia without a word before rolling back to his desk and picking his pencil back up.

Rukia stared at the sad excuse for plastic for a brief moment of mourning before making her mind up. She sprung up from the bed, told Ichigo she was going to use the restroom, and skipped out the door.

When she got to her destination, she rummaged through the trash, praying to God that no one she knew would see her doing this. Finally, she found the small object Isshin had given Ichigo. She turned it over in her hand, confused.

"Strawberry flavored?" she wondered out loud. "Why did Ichigo throw away candy?" She shrugged and tossed what she had mistook for candy back in the trash can and turned to go back into the house. Before she left the garbage area, however, her eyes caught on something promising...

She flounced back upstairs to his room and sat back down on the bed. Staring at him with an evil grin, she pressed her fingers together and...

_Pop!_

"WHAT THE HECK?"

_A/N: There you go! I hope you enjoyed this chapter of Reasons! In case you didn't understand what Isshin gave Ichigo, well... go ask your mother. ^.^_

_Anyway, I have news, my favorite people in the world. I am, sadly, going to end "Reasons" at chapter 50. (This is 41). Yes, I know it's sad. :) It's just getting too long and I'm afraid that a lot of people are being turned off by its excessive amount of chapters. THIS DOES NOT MEAN THAT I WILL STOP WRITING! I still have Alphabet Soup, and I've been working on another project I like to call "Rukercella." :) I'm sure I'll start another series of one-shots because it's what I do best and I really enjoy doing them. Thank you all so much for your continued reads and support! I really, really, really appreciate you guys and all of your feedback. :) I love you guys!_

_And thanks to _**Moonstar2015**_ for the prompt, "Bubble Wrap + Rukia" haha. ^.^_

_Thanks again for your wonderful reviews and favorites! I can't express how much that means to me. ^.^ You guys are awesome._

_REVIEWS!_

**darklover-** Glad you liked it! :) Yeah, the changes were risky, and I know a bunch of people weren't too fond of them. I miss her iconic style, but I also love her new look, too. I'm just happy she's back, in all honesty, so I don't really mind the other changes. In fact, I've gotten to the point where I actually like them. :)

**Miku Alli-** Yay! I'm glad my threat was up to par! And I'm glad you liked the last few lines. Haha, I don't know how one forgets their wedding, but my aunt actually did that. That's where I got the idea, and I thought it fit Rukia well, so therefore, I did it. :) I guess she was just so tired that her brain was not functioning correctly yet... O.O

**curio cherry-** Hurray for the wedding! I can't wait to write it... the only trouble is, I'm not sure where to start, haha. Oh, man, Urahara, Isshin, Matsumoto, Renji... all those crazy people... how could I _not_ have something crazy happen? Haha.

**ChocoboMuffins-** I'm glad you liked it! Hopefully I'll get the next part up SOON! :D

**Winter Knight-** Haha, yeah, I definitely procrastinated on that one... Heh, heh. Oh, my gosh, I hope so, too! Nothing would make me happier. ^.^

**Bewwa-** (Your review to chapter 9, "Number One.") Haha, I'm glad you liked it! I love that song and how crazy awesome it is. And Ichigo singing it... priceless. ;D

**2coolforyou-** Hurray for updating! Thanks for reading and reviewing! I'm glad you enjoyed it!

**Moonstar2015-** Thanks! And thanks so much for the prompt; 'twas super fun to write!

**OPrincess ShinigamiO-** Oh, sheesh, I don't know how many months pregnant she is... haha. Probably about 5 months now? Haha, it's bad when I don't even know and I'm the one writing it... O.O Anyway, I'm glad you liked the mini-series and the rest! Thanks for reading and reviewing!

**Rukia's Reflection-** Haha, I have no idea how someone would forget that they were getting married... My aunt did it, though, so I suppose it's possible. That's where I got the idea from. Although she actually dropped her coffee mug on herself when she remembered... Anyway, thanks for reading and reviewing! I'm glad you enjoyed it!

**Disha5-** I love French! I took two years of it in high school (would've taken 4 if not for scheduling problems) and it was awesome! Haha, sorry for the creepiness. ^.^ That is kinda scary... One person. O.O ;) Thanks for reading and reviewing! You're the best!

**setsunaxme-** Haha, don't worry about it, I have that habit, too! Don't worry, since you reviewed, Isshin is safely destined to never be your guardian. ^.^ Memories and The End were slightly depressing... but I love them anyway. :D I'm glad you liked Sex Talk and Side Effects _and_ The Wedding Day: Part 1! I hope you enjoy this chapter, to. :) Thanks for reading and reviewing!

**MN-** Haha, yay! That was my goal. Fuzzy feelings are the best. :D I'm glad you liked it! :) Thanks for reading and reviewing!

**Andr3w R0b3rts0n-** Haha, glad you love it! Oh, man, that would be hilarious! :D And you have no idea how many hyper reviews I get. It's always quite entertaining to read. ^.^ Glad you liked this one! Thanks, as always, for the awesome review! You're awesome. ^.^

_Thanks again, you guys! I love you all!_

**REVIEW! Or I will follow you around for the rest of your house with whichever scares you more. Isshin's "present" or bubble wrap (popping it continuously).**


	42. Grey or Blue

A/N: AU! Missed you guys. Hope you enjoy! xD

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or the wonderful Jaymay's song "Grey or Blue." (Don't worry, it's not a song fic, just loosely played off her song. :) )

* * *

><p>GREY OR BLUE<p>

It was dark that day, so dark that one might've assumed that it was night. Rain pounded the windows and not a soul was outside.

That is, besides me.

I didn't seem to notice, though, mostly because of the inner turmoil he'd been putting me through. That man... I don't know what his problem was.

We met through class, but we've never spoken. I know it sounds odd, but it's the truth. The first day, he sat by me after coming in late, my desk in the back and the only empty seat next to me, he didn't really have much of a choice. I glanced over at him when he sat, not intending to make eye contact, but somehow doing it anyway. He allowed a corner of his mouth to perk up slightly; a smirk, not a smile. I remember quickly looking away, heat rising up my neck and to my cheeks.

After that day, he just sat by me every day. I even moved a few times, but he always found me and sat by me. I didn't know what to think.

Then, one afternoon, during class, he slipped me a note. "Hey, Midget," was all it said. I remember turning red, not of embarrassment this time, but of anger, and bunching it up in a ball before throwing it at him. He took it like a man, only emitting a small snigger in reply.

After that, we started writing notes every day. Talking without words during a boring music class that neither of us had to take, getting to know each other, but not our voices.

I started looking for him on campus: in the cafeteria, the library, study rooms... Sometimes I saw him, his bright orange hair a beacon. He saw me, too, but we never spoke outside of that class. He was always surrounded by his friends, as was the case with me.

But every once and a while, our eyes would connect, and he'd smile or nod or raise a hand in greeting. I'd always blush and look away, embarrassed to be seen staring. My brother always said it was rude, and Byakuya was the epitome of politeness.

October 13. That was the day he first made any attempt at contact outside of class. He invited me to watch him sing at a gig. When I responded in my note, I asked him if his friends would be there. He said they didn't know that side of him.

My heart fluttered.

I went that night, watched him sing. He had the most beautiful voice I had ever heard. Or maybe I only thought so because it was coming out of his mouth. That mouth that I couldn't stare at without wondering how it tastes.

After his gig was over, he scanned the crowds for me, found me, and nodded. He disappeared after that.

It continued that way for a few weeks. I continued to practically stalk him on campus despite my boyfriend, Renji's constant complaining. I couldn't blame him, really. He loved me, I have no doubt. But honestly? He was just there.

When we're alone together back at his apartment, since he never got to come into mine, he'd sleep like a baby, assuming nothing was in danger of ending, that our relationship was fine.

But I'd stay up hours thinking about him. My "friend" from music class.

Renji tried to win my heart, but it's taken. And if he did want to win it, it'd take time, and a lot of it.

I wasn't the only one playing games, though. He was, too. I saw him around that girl, the one with the auburn hair and the large... assets. She seemed to giddy for him, and he always seemed uninterested or annoyed whenever she was around. A lot of the time, I think he only kissed her to shut her up. Either way, it hurt every time I saw his lips meet hers.

She was his lover, but by no means was she his love. She was no where near his heart.

At least that's what I thought.

For a month, I followed him with my eyes, memorizing every contour of his body. His hands, his mouth, his nose... I watched him walk, so I knew how he moved. I knew every curve, every defined muscle on him. I drank him in from a distance.

Eventually, the ones close to me started to ween themselves away from me, becoming more and more distant as my stalking continued. Maybe they didn't want to be considered accomplices when the missing person reports turned the cops to me.

Kidding, of course. I wasn't that obsessed. Okay, so maybe I was. But I wasn't nearly that crazy.

Then, it happened. One day, during class, we were passing a note back and forth, and our fingers touched. Ordinarily, this wouldn't have phased us, except for what we both felt it. A jolt of electricity, a spark. No sooner had it passed that we snapped our eyes to each other's and held that stare. For the rest of class. We literally couldn't look away. And our hands didn't move either, they just sat there, fingers brushing, for as long as our gazes were connected.

As soon as the professor dismissed us, he jumped up and ran out of the room.

It's been a week since that day. That wonderful day of November 22nd. He hasn't written to me since, and I haven't dared to be the first to break the silent contract we have. Now, on November 29th, I sit and watch him from my chair in the cafeteria. He talks with his friends, avoids holding hands with his lover, and glances at me. This time, he's the one to break the contact.

He had a gig last night. I went to it, even though it was a dark day and the rain was intense. I went to that little cafe, watched him sit down on that stool, and grab a microphone as someone else played guitar behind him. His voice coming out like honey, sweet and smooth, easing me into a peaceful lull.

When he was done, I stood to go see him. His eyes, smiling a moment before, caught sight of me and faltered. He quickly looked away and somehow disappeared before I could reach him.

That's when I realized that the feelings could not be mutual.

Hey, let's face it. I can't lie. Byakuya frowns upon lying.

* * *

><p>Today, November 30th, I sit down in class and glance beside me. For some reason, he is still sitting beside me every day. I wonder briefly if it's to torture me.<p>

His eyes, gorgeous and amber, remain staring straight ahead, his mouth in a straight line, his hand cupping his chin. He seems determined not to look at me.

I sigh and shrug, looking ahead again. The class goes on, boring as ever, and by the end I'm wishing I dropped it like my brother wanted me to do after the first class-I realized that it was for people who knew nothing about music, not ones who've been playing guitar, cello, violin, and piano for over 10 years.

Finally, the professor dismisses us, and I immediately spring up out of my seat, packing my things into my bag like a madwoman. Before I'm even done, he's gone.

I'm about to leave before I spot something on the desk. It's a folded piece of paper, one word scribed across the front. Midget.

I pick it up eagerly, glancing behind me for only a second to see if he's still around, but he's long left the classroom.

Gingerly, my heart pounding, I slowly ease the paper open and my breath catches. It's not an epic love poem. It's not even a letter renewing our odd friendship of sorts. It's simply four words and a few numbers.

The Jumping Bean, 11:00, tonight.

* * *

><p>I creep in carefully, quietly. I stick to the back just in case this is a big, sick prank. Who knows what this stupid pumpkin-head is capable of?<p>

He's already on stage, but by the looks of it, he hasn't started his performance yet. It looks like he's still setting up. He's adjusting something behind him but in front of his infamous stool. He stands up slightly and turns his head around, eyes scanning the whole place. They land on me and freeze. I freeze, too.

After a moment, I'm not sure, but I think I see his lip turn up slightly into a vague smile, but I can't be positive because then he's turning away, back to whatever he's doing.

Another minute passes, and then finally he maneuvers around the stand he seems to have set up and settles onto his stool. I glance around for his guitar accompanist, but don't see him. It strikes me as odd, but suddenly music starts from somewhere and I'm distracted by it completely.

My eyes snap to him again, and I see that he's now playing the xylophone, or trying to, at least. I suddenly realize that I'm sporting a smirk, my arms crossed, as I lean back onto the wall behind me. I do notice, however, that my smirk fades as he opens his mouth.

I feel so helpless now, my guitar is not around

And I'm strugglin with the xylophone to make these feelings sound...

My mouth falls open. He's staring straight at me for once. His amber eyes do not leave my face as he continues to sing.

You haven't written to me in a week I'm wondering why that is

Are you too nervous to be lovers, friendships ruined with just one kiss

I watched you very closely I saw you look away

Your eyes are either gray or blue I'm never close enough to say

My cheeks are burning. My mouth is still unhinged. He is still staring at me.

But your sweatshirt says it all with the hood over your face

I look down slightly to see my sweatshirt, which has been frequenting my body lately, is on, the hood pulled over my head loosely. My eyes snap back up to his, wonder and awe filling them as he begins to smirk.

And I'm winning you with words because I have no other way

I want to look into your face without your eyes turnin away...

It's for me. This song. I'm sure of it now. His unwavering stare, the knowing smirk on his face. As he finishes up the song, my face is still full of disbelief. I hear him thanking everyone, his eyes never leaving mine. He stands up, and before I know it, I'm walking blindly over to him, not paying any mind to the people I'm bumping into on the crowded cafe floor.

Finally, we meet in the middle, and I am able to snap my mouth shut. He continues to stare at me for a while, that stupid smirk never once slipping off his face. Eventually, he breaks the silence.

"Midget," he says with a nod.

Suddenly, I'm able to speak again. Anger flows through me, but I know it's only petty anger, nothing real. "My eyes are violet, not grey or blue, and I don't always wear a sweatshirt, you know, and you haven't written to me in a week, you dumb idiot, so don't complain to me about it, and mmph-!"

All at once, his lips are on mine and my words have left me once again. I can only cling to him, fisting one hand in his shirt sleeve, the other placed lightly on his chest. His arms are wrapped around my waist, pulling me to him. After a moment of delay, I wrap my hands around his neck and tilt my head to better kiss him. I lace my fingers through his hair as his arms tighten around my waist. I stand on my tiptoes in an attempt to get even closer to him, even though our bodies are pressed so closely together I'm not sure how that's possible. He deepens the kiss, and I shudder at the feeling of his tongue against mine. I never want to let go.

Eventually, we do pull apart, arms still wrapped around each other, still clutching the other close. We each let out breathy laughs and lean our foreheads against each other, my eyes still closed.

Finally, I open them, only to feel a spike of electricity race down my spine at the intensity of his gaze on mine. I smile and pull him closer.

We stand like that for at least 5 minutes, breathing in each other's air, just content to be in each other's arms. But then he pulls back without apparent reason. I frown and step after him, but he stops me with a hand held out, as if asking for a handshake. Then I frown at that because it's in my way of his beautiful, soft, lips. I look up at him, confused, but he only laughs.

"Kurosaki Ichigo," he says with a wave of his hand.

I take it then, finally understanding. "Kuchiki Rukia." I smile. "Nice to meet you, Berry."

"Right back at you, Midget." Once pleasantries are out of the way, our lips are being melded back together without another word or thought.

* * *

><p>AN: VOILA! INSPIRATION COMES AT LAST!

If you don't want to read all of my rambling, scroll down to the bolded number thing stuffs. That's the important stuff you need to know.

Sorry for making you all wait so freaking long, but you know how it is, right? Plus, I just started school, so I've been stressed about that, and blah, blah, blah, I know you guys don't really care, so I'll just say sorry and leave it at that, haha.

I think it's really funny because I just posted that "update" on my profile today, saying that I'm trying really hard to write something for you all, and then here we are, just sitting down and writing something... ha. I guess that's how it works. :P

But seriously, you guys have no idea how many "works-in-progress" I have right now! Let's see... I'll count them for you. 9 on my desktop alone... So there's your proof that I HAVE been trying! :)

Oh, jeez, I've missed you guys.

I really considered not posting this in Reasons because it's technically an AU fic, and none of the other, what, 42 chapters of Reasons are, but then I was like, it needs some love, so I did. :) Plus, you guys need some response on your wonderful reviews!

I feel like I might be rambling a bit because I just missed you all so much... ^.^ Sorry about that.

Oh, before I forget! Yes, this is based (loosely) on Jaymay's song, "Grey or Blue," which is also the song Ichigo sings. :) It's been my latest obsession, haha. Check it out! It's a good 'un.

Now, IMPORTANT STUFF! PLEASE READ!

Dig a Hole- I am still working on it, I have not given up. Promise. The next chapter will (hopefully) be out by the end of the month. Now that I have a rhythm going with school work, I'm thinking I'll be able to write more freelance stuffs.

Alphabet Soup- One of those 9 stories "on hold" is called "Killjoy" and is for Alphabet Soup. Eventually I will be able to finish it and will hopefully get back onto my schedule for every Sunday updates. Sorry!

PM messaging- I am still unable to get on for some reason! I'm SO sorry! I click on "Inbox," right? And then it tells me I need to sign in, so I do, but no matter how many times I click on it, it just tells me to sign in. This is true for every computer I've tried thus far. -.- I promise I'm not avoiding you, I do love you all, and I WILL find a way to respond to you if it kills me!

I really, really missed you guys. :)

Thanks SO much for all of your support and understanding! You guys are seriously the best, and I don't think I would've even tried if not for your fabulous reviews and favoriting and alerts... I love you guys so much!

Okay, you're dismissed! :) Sorry I rambled for so long!

REVIEWS! (Even though you all probably forgot what you said to begin with...haha)

Miku Alli- D'aw, thanks! You make my heart sing. :) I thought 50 was a good place to end, but I dunno, if I update as sporadically as I have been lately, it probably doesn't matter how long it goes, haha. Haha, gum would be fun, too! xD Thanks for the review, it means so much!

ChocoboMuffins- Bubble wrap is like, my favorite thing ever. Haha. It's too entertaining! xD Also, I know that you've been waiting for a PM for a LONG time, and I'm so sorry! I need to contact fanfic and figure out what's up. :( 'Cause it seriously sucks. Anyway, stay strong, and thanks for the review!

Lunacat13- Oh, man, THAT would've been interesting! I can see it now... Oh, what would poor Ichi do? I wanna apologize to you, as well, because of the whole PM thing! I'm trying to get it sorted out, promise. :) Anyway, thanks for the review! I hope this one is up to snuff!

OnepieceX3- Haha, Isshin and his presents! I'm glad you like my stories! That makes me so happy. :D I'm sad Reasons is ending, too, but I think 50 chapters is a good place to cut off. :) Eventually, I'm hoping all of my projects that are currently "in progress" will be published! Haha, I can dream... xD Thanks for the review!

2coolforyou- I getcha ;P. Yeah, I'm sad that it's coming to an end! I've been so proud of Reasons. It's been my baby... until I abandoned it and left it to die when I got too frustrated to finish a one-shot... haha. Anyway, thanks so much for the review! It means so much!

Moonstar2015- Thanks for reviewing it! And yeah, silly, silly Rukia! I never know when to cut off Rukia's naive-ness level, but it's just fun sometimes to make her a little dumb. Haha. Again, thanks so much for the review!

darklover- Thanks so much! It means a lot to hear you say that! :) I hope you like this one, too.

Winter Knight- I know, right? Bubble wrap is seriously one of my intense loves. xD It's too much fun for its own good! Thanks so much for the review! I hope you enjoyed this one as well!

OPrincess ShinigamiO- Bubble wrap is the best. xD And oh, goodness, that would be disgusting! I wonder what Ichi would've done after THAT? Haha. ;) Thanks so much for the review! It means a lot to me!

ruchichan- I think Isshin is a little too messed up in the head. xD For some reason, he thinks condoms and grandbabies work together... poor guy. He'll never have grandchildren if he keeps that up! Haha. Thanks! I"m super happy you liked it and reviewed! :D Makes my day!

Hazmaster00- (Your review to chapter 15) Haha, Fruit Salad is definitely a catchy song, and if there are MORE catchy songs out there, well, jee, I don't want to know them! Haha. Every time someone so much as SAYS "fruit salad," that song plays in my head. Thanks so much for the review! :D

Rukia's Reflection- Haha, it's too hard not to! Bubble wrap is one of those things that you just can't HELP but annoy the people around you with. xD Thanks so much for the review! I hope this one is to your liking as well. :)

Bewwa- Finally, after a few MONTHS, I've updated! haha. Oh, so good to hear that you liked it enough to maybe read it more than once! I love that. :) I hope you do read it when you need a laugh, and I'm glad that it gave you one! I love writing these, and I'm sad to leave it off at 50, but I just felt that that was a good place to end Reasons. I might make another series, though. We'll have to see... I hope you liked this chapter!

Darkfirelight- "Number One" seems to be a lot of people's favorites! Haha, I know it's one of mine! I'm glad you liked it! Thanks so much for reviewing! Means the world to me. :)

TruantPony- Ichigo is the EASIEST target ever, haha. If I were Rukia, I would certainly tease him if I ever had an opportunity. ;) And Isshin only ever has two things on his mind: sex and Ichigo having sex. Haha. He's a bit messed up in the head, though. Thanks so much for the review! :)

Disha5- Oh, Rukia and bubble wrap, you can't go wrong there! Haha. Oh, I knew what you meant, don't worry about it. All I remember from my French classes is basic phrases and "poisson" because that was my favorite word... and believe it or not, Fish are not my favorite animals... haha. Yeah, well, that's what I THOUGHT I'd do, but now everyone's complaining, so I'm not sure any more, haha. We'll just have to see. :) Oh, and I'll try my best to FINALLY finish those works in progress I started... Haha. Anyway, thanks for your review and encouragement! And I'm sorry about the PM thing. :( I'm working on getting it fixed, promise. :)

Andr3w R0b3rts0n- HAHAHAHAHAHA! You made my life, just so you know. :) That was the funniest review I've ever read! Sure, it made no sense, but it was worth it! xD I came very close to naming this either "Walrus Turds" or "Unicorns Are," but decided against it. :/ I'm glad you're so enthusiastic about my stories, though! Thanks so much for your continued support and love. :)

Whew! Can you tell I missed you guys YET? Haha. Anyway...

REVIEW! Or I will make sure that YOU are the next missing person the cops go looking for... MUAHAHA!


End file.
